China orders over 600,000 tonnes Ukrainian corn, snubs U.S. supplies
By Niu Shuping and David Stanway
Yahoo.com
Tue, Mar 17, 2015
BEIJING (Reuters) – China, the world’s second largest corn consumer, has booked over 600,000 tonnes of corn from Ukraine this year and more deals are expected as Beijing’s stockpiling dries up supplies and boosts domestic prices.
China’s move to import Black Sea shipments under a loan-for-grain deal is seen as a blow to U.S. corn exporters who are struggling to sell the country’s record crop.
U.S. corn futures fell for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, trading near a six-week low with additional pressure from China’s purchases of Ukrainian corn.
Some of the Ukraine cargoes for April-May shipment were struck at about 1,500 yuan (162 pounds) per tonne, including cost and freight, said one buyer. The price is about 60 percent lower than domestic corn quoted at 2,490 yuan per tonne in the major port of Shenzhen (YC-DEQSHZ).
U.S. corn is quoted about 80 yuan ($13) per tonne cheaper than Ukraine corn, traders said.
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