Rains aid Chinese corn, may limit yield losses

Heavy rains have improved growing conditions in China's top corn producing provinces, which could limit the damage inflicted by a prolonged period of dryness with forecasts of more crop-friendly weather in the coming days.
A higher-than-expected corn output in China, the world's second largest consumer and producer of the grain, may cap its imports and weigh on the US new-crop December corn - which has already been hit by forecasts for more rains in the Midwest and is on track to record its steepest weekly fall in seven months.
"The drought had delayed plantings in areas, including Liaoning, but recent rains have eased the drought and at this stage, we don't see any impact from the weather," said Hong Ming, an analyst with Yong'an Futures, who has recently done a crop tour.
The National Meteorological Center forecasts heavy rains and a lower-than-normal temperature in the coming 10 days in the north-east areas. The total area affected by drought in China has decreased since June after as much as 63 mm of rainfall in the region, said the Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
Still, some 1.08 million hectares of farmland in the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning are suffering drought, and 140,000 people have problems accessing drinking water, the office said.
The three provinces produce about 32 percent of the country's total corn output. China imported 1.76 million tonnes of corn in the first four months of 2012, 150 times the same period in 2011.
It is expected to emerge as the world's fourth largest corn importer in the year to September 2013, buying almost 8 million tonnes, or 60 percent more than this year's estimate - a key factor driving planting intentions in the United States.
The United States is likely to produce a record crop this autumn that could double ending stocks which are set to be the lowest in 16 years this summer in the world's largest exporter of the grain.
In its June supply-demand report, the US Department of Agriculture kept its forecast for China's corn imports at 7 million tonnes. It also estimated China to produce 195 million tonnes of corn this year, up from a record-large harvest of 191.75 million tonnes last year.