Some key Asian feed makers are having to pay more for higher-quality corn from the Black Sea region as a key traditional supplier, the United States, struggles with a weather-damaged crop, reports Successful Farming.
China, South Korea and Bangladesh have turned to Ukraine for a part of their feed corn demand for February arrival, according to three trade sources and shipping data.
Corn from Ukraine, one of the few origins in the world left with top-grade corn reserves, is quoted at $220 a tonne, including cost and freight, for February arrival to South Korea, up about $10 a tonne in a month, sources said.
The US corn crop is graded on a scale of one to four in descending order of quality, with the grain traded against the CBOT futures contract falling in the number two category.
