Demystifying China’s Ma(i)ze: Chinese Feed Grains Through 2030 in Focus

Chinese feed grain consumption is back on a growth track, albeit with a slowing growth trend. Looking ahead, from 2020/21 to 2025/26, Chinese feed use will gain momentum, rising 3.3% per annum, with hog feed remaining the largest growth engine.

In China, corn takes up 80% of grain share in feed. However, the future availability of feed corn will face challenges. Since 2016/17, Chinese corn has consistently registered deficits. “The government needs to reform existing policies to stimulate domestic production, otherwise, corn inventory will drop further to a severely low level,” according to Lief Chiang, Analyst - Grains & Oilseeds. In the meanwhile, and at least until production catches up, high imports of corn and other feed grains will be needed to fill the supply-demand gap.

Buoyed by strong exports to China, international corn prices have also shown an uptrend so far in 2020, and will gain further support from China’s future import demand.