Corn Prices Rose due to Stronger Chinese Demand

On Wednesday, corn prices went up amid rising demand for the commodity from China, leading to a boost in the crop market.

Corn futures for May delivery increased by 0.10% to $647.40 per metric ton on March 29’s Asian afternoon session.

An aggressive drop in export values has triggered China to buy tons of US maize. The country took advantage of improved import margins and recovered depleted storage. Despite political tensions, the purchases are still ongoing.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, last Friday’s most recent flash sale was 204,000.00 tons. It marked the eighth deal within the past nine business days. 

Since May 2021, there have not been continuous days of flash sales of corn to China in the previous month. The last purchase was in August last year.

In the week that ended on March 16, US sales to the Asian nation totaled 2.25 million tons. It is considered the third-biggest weekly total recorded. Furthermore, buyers from China ordered an additional 832,000.00 tons of corn.

US futures reflected the growing demand for the grain by boosting 520pc from early March since Chinese buying started. Pulled up by another flash sale, over one-third of the improvement happened on last Friday’s trade. It closed the contract at a three-week high.

Brazil Stopped Corn Exports to China

Brazil has cut the shipments of corn to China. The halt in exports will be until the safrinha harvest begins in June. From November to February, a total of 2.26Mt was delivered, including a 70,000.00-ton cargo in February. 

In January, China was the top importer of the Brazilian crop, beating Japan, Iran, and Spain. It shipped almost 984,000.00 tons to China in the month.

Since Argentina has a corn dilemma, China is banking on a significant Brazilian safrinha harvest. This move is to make up for the global supply shortage.

According to analysts, Chinese buyers have already bought 1.50Mt for deliveries starting in July and can add to that volume.