Country News
China: Corn imports increased by more than double in June and reached their highest level in a decade as buyers sought to beat a late-month surge in U.S. corn prices, reports Bloomberg News. June shipments reached 872,928 MT compared to 404,102 MT in May, which is the highest recorded since 2005. Corn imports in June 2014 totaled 27,230 MT. Chinese buyers were also incentivized to seek corn abroad as domestic supplies are both more expensive and of lower quality, despite the government’s best efforts to sell from the state stockpiles.
Iran: Iranian traders have purchased 180,000 MT of Brazilian corn for shipment in July and August this week, according to Reuters. This was the country’s first major grain purchase in months.
Further, Iran has imposed import duties on barley that will be in effect until September 22, 2015. Iran is the world’s third-largest feed barley importer after Saudi Arabia and China.
Ukraine: The Ministry of Agriculture has announced that it may reduce its outlook for the 2015 corn crop due to excessive heat and drought, reports Reuters. A June estimate placed corn output at 26.4 MMT in 2015 compared to 28.5 MMT last year. As of now the projection for the overall grain harvest remains unchanged at 60 MMT.