China to Surpass Japan as Top Corn Buyer: Chart of Day
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China, which lost its self-sufficiency in corn about five years ago, is on a dietary shift that will make it the world’s largest import market by 2021, overtaking Japan, South Korea and Mexico.
Until 2009, China was able to harvest more corn than it needed except for a few periods of severe drought. This year, the country is expected to import about 2 percent of its consumption, with that proportion rising to 7.2 percent by 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. China’s emergence as a top corn buyer is good news for producers in the U.S., Brazil and Ukraine, which face a demand squeeze amid aging populations elsewhere in Northeast Asia.