China Agriculture View

April 29 (Bloomberg) — Corn gained for a second day, extending yesterday’s steepest climb in nine weeks, after China bought more than 100,000 metric tons of the grain from U.S. exporters. Soybeans also gained.

China’s 115,000-ton purchase is to be delivered by Aug. 31, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. Production in China, the biggest corn grower after the U.S., is expected to drop 6.6 percent this year, the department said this month.

“The purchase turned the speculation that China will buy U.S. corn into a conviction,” said Han Sung Min, a grains futures broker at Korea Exchange Bank Futures Co. in Seoul. “China needs to import more and has a long way to go to become a net exporter. The news is driving up corn, coupled with cold and wet weather in China.”

Corn futures for July delivery rose as much as 0.5 percent to $3.6575 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade and traded at $3.655 a bushel at 11:24 a.m. Seoul time. The most-active contract jumped 2.9 percent yesterday, the biggest gain since Feb. 22. Corn has lost 12 percent this year because of rising stockpiles in the U.S., the world’s biggest grower and exporter.

Snow and cold weather in northeast China will delay planting of spring crops by more than 10 days, the Ministry of Agriculture said in an online briefing on April 27.

Soybean futures for July delivery were little changed at $9.9425 a bushel in Chicago. The price has declined 5.2 percent this year, partly because of rising global output. Wheat for July delivery advanced 0.3 percent to $4.895 a bushel.

In the physical market, Nonghyup Feed Inc., South Korea’s biggest feed-grain buyer, passed on a tender late yesterday to buy as much as 110,000 tons of U.S. corn for arrival in September and October because of higher-than-expected prices.