Sources report that since China started buying corn it has acquired enough to ship 15 cargoes of the stuff from the United States. The buying - reported by Dow Jones New Service - says that as many as six cargoes were purchased this week alone. While the volume of a "cargo" of corn can vary an average shipment runs about 55,000 metric tons.
The big purchase - which has been bought to be loaded out over several months - won't be reported until official loading actually begins. There is a concern that if corn futures rise too fast that Chinese buying could stop. And the wire service reports that many of the deals have been made through trading companies.
Local prices for corn in China have been rising and the global buying could be aimed at pushing those prices back down. China has a long history of being concerned about local food prices and their relationship to social unrest. Since the country doesn't report its buying or existing grain stock information - although estimates are that the country has 53 million bushels of corn on hand - there are logistical concerns that push global buying too.
It's often cheaper to ship grain from overseas to some Chinese ports than move it overland from domestic production areas. The country continues to deal with tight local corn supplies continue to push up local prices there.
China's corn buying is influencing U.S. grain trade as corn prices rise here.
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