China’s record corn-buying spree – a cornerstone of its trade deal with the United States – may be running out of steam, with risks growing that imports by the top buyer will fall short of US official estimates.
The domestic harvest season is looming and China is expecting a bumper crop after farmers sharply boosted corn planting this year.
This is already starting to weigh on Chinese corn prices, narrowing the gap with overseas prices and hurting the attractiveness of imports, according to traders and analysts.
China’s corn purchases in 2021-22 will probably miss the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) prediction of 26 million tonnes, said Darin Friedrichs, senior Asia commodity analyst at StoneX Group.
To read the full article by South China Morning Post, please click here.