Chinese buyers cancel corn shipments as Beijing supports farmers

Chinese importers won’t take delivery of four or five cargoes of Ukrainian corn previously booked for delivery between April and June, according to people familiar with the matter. The cancellations took place within the past two weeks, and more shipments from the European country could be scuppered in the future, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

A cut in deliveries to the top importer could further weigh on global prices already under pressure after bountiful harvests in the US and Brazil.

The cancellations come after Chinese customs officials asked traders to limit deliveries of foreign corn into bonded areas in a move aimed at easing domestic oversupply and supporting prices for farmers before the planting season.

Traders can bring corn into bonded areas and blend them with other ingredients into animal feed, before importing it at a lower tax rate.

Local authorities have told some merchants and processors to not build new blending facilities in bonded areas, and to keep corn cargoes delivered to these zones below prior year levels, the people said. Some importers had already booked more cargoes than desired by the government, leading to the cancellations, they said.