China's corn imports seen at one million tonnes versus two million tonnes last month

China will import 1 million tonnes of corn in 2016/17, an official think-tank said on Monday, lower than the 2 million tonnes forecast last month. China's corn prices have fallen to levels that make imported corn uncompetitive, said the influential China National Grain and Oils information center.
Domestic corn available at Guangzhou port, in a major consumption region, cost 1,630 yuan ($236.42) per tonne on March 1, the think-tank said, compared with 1,691 yuan per tonne for No 2 yellow corn from the United States landed at the port after import duties. The import forecast, a drop of 63 percent compared with the prior year, was in line with a forecast by China's agriculture ministry last month.
The think-tank also slightly lowered its estimate for corn consumption in the year to September 2017 by 500,000 tonnes, citing weaker-than-expected demand from industrial processors in the north-east. The new forecast for demand is 197.1 million tonnes.
The forecast for food wheat consumption was also lowered by 300,000 tonnes to 108.72 million tonnes after high flour prices pushed some users to replace wheat flour with cheaper corn starch. The price gap between corn starch and flour in the northern province of Hebei has widened to a record-high of 1,300 yuan per tonne, up from 420 yuan since the start of the crop year in October 2016, the think-tank said. However, consumption of wheat by the feed sector is set to increase by 23 percent this year to 8 million tonnes, after bad weather impacted the quality of the crop.