China Increases Import of Feed Grains Due to Rising Corn Prices
Chinese importers have significantly increased their purchases of feed grains, primarily Australian barley and American sorghum. The sharp rise in demand is attributed to high domestic corn prices caused by crop damage from prolonged rainfall.
This is reported by AgroReview
Significant Increase in Sorghum and Barley Imports
According to Asian traders, in the past three months, Chinese buyers have booked about 45 vessel loads, amounting to at least 2.5 million tons of American sorghum. This volume is three times higher than the annual sorghum import figure for 2025. Additionally, since December, Chinese importers have been purchasing approximately 1 million tons of Australian barley each month, which is double the average for the same period last year.
“These sales are driven by very high corn prices in China and competitive prices in Australia,” noted one grain trader, who expects Chinese demand for barley and sorghum to remain strong in the coming months.
Reasons for Increased Demand for Alternative Grains
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, since early November, 1.6 million tons of American sorghum have been sold to China, of which 1.259 million tons were classified as “unknown” destinations; however, most of this volume is actually reaching the Chinese market.
The current average national price for corn in China this week is around 2,250 yuan (or $326.02) per ton, which is approximately 10% higher than a year ago. Despite a record harvest in volume, a significant portion of it, grown in the northern part of the country, was affected by heavy rains during harvesting, rendering the grain unsuitable for use due to mold. There are currently no official estimates of the losses.
Senior corn market analyst at Sublime China Information, Zheng Yanan, explains that the increase in demand for barley and sorghum is directly related to rising prices and declining quality of corn.
She stated that from September to November, prolonged rainfall in key regions of Northern China significantly deteriorated the quality of corn, prompting importers to seek alternative sources of feed grains.