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Can China repeat 2021 corn import record?

The U.S. Grains Council wonders how close China might come to repeating last year’s record corn imports.

USGC director of strategic initiatives and engagement Melissa Kessler tells Brownfield China was the top destination for U.S. corn in 2021.

“They bought record amounts of corn and pushed our overall grains in all forms, which is a measure we use to really assess not just how much direct commodity corn we’re exporting, but how much feed grain our farmers are producing that is then being exported in any form. (China) really pushed that to new records.”

She suggests it will be difficult for China to sustain that kind of demand in 2022.

“We know some of that buying was driven by opening up in Phase One. China did not reach the levels of purchases that they had committed to under Phase One, and we heard Secretary Vilsack say that the administration would be working with China to have them meet those commitments. It’s not clear really what that looks like at this point.”

She says demand for feed grains should remain strong as China continues to rebuild hog inventories decimated by African swine fever.

Kessler made these comments during a recent partnership podcast between Brownfield and the Minnesota Corn Growers Association.