China Corn Imports May Rise to Record, Group Says

China may boost corn imports to a record next year as the U.S., the world’s biggest grain exporter, potentially faces increased competition from rival supplier Argentina, the U.S. Grains Council said.

Corn purchases may grow fivefold from 1.5 million metric tons this year “to upward of” 7.4 million tons in the 2011 calendar year, Thomas Dorr, president of the industry group, said in an interview in Beijing. The group in July forecast imports of 5.8 million tons.