China cuts corn imports

In recent months, the volume of corn imports to China has been declining. In August 2024, China imported 430 thousand tons of corn, down 64% from August 2023. In September, the country imported only 310 thousand tons of corn, the lowest since March 2020. In October, the volume of imports dropped to 250 thsd tons.

The main reason for the decline in imports was the intervention of the Chinese government.

In April 2024, the media reported that Chinese officials asked buyers to limit purchases of foreign corn. There was no official confirmation of this information, but according to ASAP Agri, this news was followed by cancellations of already booked shipments, indicating a high probability of unofficial restrictions on imports. The reason for the export restrictions could have been the Chinese authorities’ desire to support local farmers ahead of the spring planting campaign and to reduce excess domestic supply in the face of insufficient demand from the local livestock industry.

In August 2024, there were reports that the Chinese government asked traders to limit imports of barley and sorghum, and to reduce maize purchases again as stocks remained high and demand from local consumers insufficient due to attractive prices on the world market.

In the 2023/24 season (October-September), the country imported 23.5 million tons of maize, much higher than the previous season (18.7 million tons) and the highest since the 2020/21 season, when 29.5 million tons were supplied.

The increase in imports in the 2023/24 season was driven by significant shipments of Brazilian corn, which occurred mainly in the first half of the season. In May 2022, China and Brazil signed an agreement to allow imports of Brazilian corn into China. Phytosanitary standards were agreed upon by November 2022. The first notable shipments of Brazilian corn to China took place in January 2023.
Following large-scale purchases of Brazilian corn, lower domestic demand and actions by the authorities, interest in imports fell sharply in the second half of the 2023/24 season.

China’s corn imports are limited by a quota. In the current year, it amounted to 7.2 million tons. In September, the same quota was set for 2025, with state-owned companies accounting for 60% of the volume.

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Tags: China, corn, imports