Argentine corn heads for S. Korea

Argentine corn heads for S. Korea

SINGAPORE (Reuters): One distressed Argentine corn cargo, originally scheduled for Indonesia, has been diverted to South Korea following a ban by Jakarta on South American grain due to foot-and-mouth fears, regional traders said on Friday.

This is the second Argentine cargo diverted from its original destination, after Indonesia banned grain imports from South America and the European Union.

"The corn cargo will now go to South Korea," a leading Singapore-based international grains trader said.

Another Singapore grains trader confirmed the market talk. "South Korea is the only country where they could have sold such a big (panamax-sized) cargo now," he said. A panamax-sized cargo ranges from about 55,000 to 65,000 tons.

Grain traders in Seoul said South Korea's Big Feed Mills Group (BFMG) members, including Cheil Jedang Corp, and some of the Top Margin Committee (TMC) members had bought the panamax-sized Argentine corn cargo, originally scheduled for Indonesia, from international grains supplier Toepfer.

"Cheil Jedang's feed making subsidiary in Indonesia originally bought the corn," a Seoul trader said.