Unprecedented Demand May See China Import 40 Pct More Corn Than What It Has In The Last 60 Years

A dramatic uptick in corn demand in China has recently resulted in a price rally, but may drive the country to import as much as 30 million tons of the grain this year.

At first glance, this may seem positive but mundane news, until you realize that China has only imported 75 million tons of corn over the past 60 years, which places a whole new light on the possibility.

Over the past six years the U.S. has exported a yearly average of 50 million tons of corn - of this, only 4 percent, or 2 million tons were sent to China - providing not even half of China’s yearly imports.

The USDA forecasts that U.S. corn exports can increase from the six-year average of 2 billion bushels to 2.6 billion bushels this year - or 40 percent more than last year and exceeding the record set by the U.S. of 2.4 billion bushels in the 2016/17 and 2017/18 marketing years. But can U.S. infrastructure keep up?

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