价格下跌引发了一系列中国聚氨酯rchases of U.S. corn, as the world’s top buyer of the grain scrambles to make up for a slow start to its import program, traders and analysts said.
According toReuters, the latest deal, announced by theU.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA) on March 24, saw China buying 204,000 tonnes of American corn, its eighth confirmed purchase in the past nine business days.
U.S. corn futures fell 7.3% during February and hit a seven-month low on March 10, before China began its buying spree.
The price drop, combined withuncertainty about exportsfrom Ukraine andimproved shipping conditions along the Mississippi River, made U.S. supplies the most attractive to Chinese buyers.
Export sales of U.S. corn to China totaled 2.245 million tonnes in the week ended March 16, the third biggest weekly total on record, USDA data show. Since then, Chinese buyers have booked deals for another 832,000 tonnes of corn.
