Exclusive-China buyers snap up U.S. sorghum, Australian barley as domestic corn supply tightens

By Naveen Thukral and Ella Cao Feb 12 (Reuters) – Chinese buyers have ramped up feed grain purchases in recent months, taking large volumes of Australian barley and U.S. sorghum after rain damaged the domestic corn harvest, trade sources said. Importers have booked about 45 cargoes, or at least 2.5 million metric tons, of U.S. sorghum over the past three months, according to two Asian traders familiar with the deals, or three times the quantity shipped in all of 2025. Chinese buyers have also been taking one million tons of Australian barley a month since December, around double last year's monthly volumes, said three traders involved in some of the transactions. "These sales have been driven by very high corn prices in China and competitive prices in Australia," said one grains trader, who expects continued Chinese demand for barley and sorghum in coming months. All the sources declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media. By January 29, data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows, 1.6 million tons of U.S. sorghum had been sold to China since early November, with 1.259 million tons headed for destinations categorised as "unknown". Most of such sorghum is headed for China, said one of the traders with knowledge of Chinese deals. China resumed purchases of U.S. agricultural products, including soybeans, after talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the end of October eased trade tension. RISING CHINESE CORN PRICES BOOST IMPORTS The surge in Chinese feed grain imports has underpinned prices in exporting countries, while providing relief to animal feed producers in China struggling with low margins amid a rally in local prices of corn, a key feed ingredient. Australian barley prices, including cost and freight, have climbed nearly 10% in three months, traders said. The FOB sorghum price at the U.S. Texas Gulf Coast was $228.30 per ton by February 5, up 12.6% from $202.80 on October 30, the US Grains & Bioproducts Council reported. In China, the national average corn price was around 2,250 yuan ($326.02) per ton this week, up about 10% from a year earlier, according to Sublime China Information. HEAVY RAINS AND MOLDY CORN Despite last year's record corn harvest, some of northern China's crop was battered by heavy rains during harvest, rendering some of it moldy, industry sources said, but no official damage estimates have been issued. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "The rising demand for barley and sorghum is largely due to issues with corn quality and rising prices," said Zhen Yanan, a senior corn analyst at Sublime China Information. "From September to November, prolonged rainfall in North China's key grain-producing regions led to poor corn quality," she said. During a mid-October visit to the key corn-producing northern province of Henan, China's vice premier said rainfall had disrupted the autumn harvest, and urged swift action to meet grain output targets, while state broadcaster CCTV said farmers were hastening harvests before wet grains spoiled. Beijing manages staple imports through quotas, allowing 7.2 million tons of corn annually at a tariff of 1%. Imports above the quota face much higher duties of 65%. "There was corn production that wasn't useable as feed, due to mold, combined with minimal corn imports in 2025, which created a tighter supply environment," said Darin Friedrichs, co-founder of Sitonia Consulting. "Sorghum and barley aren't subject to import quotas, so there has been strong demand for imports of those." ($1=6.9015 Chinese yuan) (Additional reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago;Editing by Tony Munroe and Clarence Fernandez)

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