China corn imports spike in January-July period

China imported 282,000 metric tons of corn between January and July this year, 56 times the quantity of imports in the same period last year, state media reported, citing figures from the Ministry of Agriculture. The ministry said wheat imports doubled, while imports of rice and barley grew 42.6% and 26.7% respectively. Corn imports spiked this year due to the impact of poor weather conditions on national yields as well as an increase in demand from the processing industry. While the government insists domestic supplies are adequate to meet demand, it has looked overseas to bolster domestic supplies to keep food price inflation under control. Despite a 61.9% rise in China’s agricultural trade deficit to US$13.05 billion and concerns over future corn supplies, officials have been quick to point out that the surging corn imports will not continue indefinitely and that the situation should improve following the autumn harvest.