China's corn supply gap expected to expand

BEIJING - China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has projected a bigger supply gap of corn from October 2018 to September 2019 than a year earlier.

Corn output for the period is expected to shrink 0.7 percent year-on-year to 257 million tons, while consumption will rise 5.5 percent to 285 million tons, according to a report by the Chinese Agriculture Outlook Committee, an advisory body under the ministry.

In breakdown, corn used as animal feed will expand 3.5 percent year-on-year to 178 million tons, while industrial consumption of corn will increase 12.7 percent year-on-year to 84.5 million tons.

From October 2017 to September 2018, China's corn output reached 259 million tons, down 1.7 percent year-on-year, while its consumption grew 4.4 percent to 270 million tons.

During that period, the country's net corn import stood at 3.45 million tons, according to the report.