According to a USDA GAIN report, China experts a reduction in corn and wheat imports, while barley imports are increased as feed mills shift to substitute more sorghum with barley.
Corn production for MY2021/22 is forecast at 272 MMT, up by 11.3 MMT from last year due to higher planting area leading to high yields. The increased acreage is attributed to a mix of high prices and government policies encouraging or mandating the planting of additional corn acreage. MY2021/22 wheat imports are forecast at 8 MMT, 2 MMT lower than USDA estimates. Reduced wheat imports are attributed to increased wheat production and improved seeds. On April 20, MARA stated that winter wheat area grew by 200,000 hectares. Besides upscaled production, rise in grain prices and shipping costs have contributed to reduced importation. Feed demand for sorghum is currently weak. Feed grain sorghum consumption for MY2021/22 is forecast at 7.9 MMT, 2.6 MMT lower than the USDA forecast, as cheaper barley is expected to displace it in feed rations – increasing barley imports. For barley, the production forecast for MY2021/22 is lowered by 40,000 tons as some barley area has been planted to corn. Barley imports are increased to 10.5 MMT. China is working on its policies in an effort to manage prices, grain planting and storage levels. On April 21, MARA published details of the Corn/Soybean Meal Reduction and Substitution Technology Plan for poultry Feed.
On May 10, the National Development and Reform Commission published ‘Management Measures for Central Budget Special Investment on Storage Facilities for Grains and other Key Agricultural Products’. On May 19, the Chinese government revised the Interim Management Measures regarding Import Tariff Quota on Agricultural Products with the intention of stopping the illegal processing of imported corn into feed for the domestic market. On May 25, the ‘Reform Action Plan’ was issued to control prices of grain commodities.
