Malaysia, RI to buy more Chinese corn

Malaysia, RI to buy more Chinese corn

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Malaysia is looking to buy up to 50,000
tons of Chinese corn while an Indonesian trade house may also be
shopping around for another 50,000 tons of corn from either China
or Argentina, traders said yesterday.

"The Malaysians are trying to buy 50,000 tons of corn and the
Indonesians are also looking around for the same amount," a
senior dealer for a U.S. commodity trading firm told Reuters.

"The Malaysians will concentrate on the Chinese stuff. I think
the Indonesians will be looking at Chinese or Argentine corn," a
trader for a European grain house added.

But one U.S. trader said Malaysian corn demand should be "no
more than 20,000 to 40,000 tons."

Dealers said buyers were looking for a price in the low
US$140s (a tonne C&F). The delivery date will be around mid-May.
"Indonesian end-users are no longer interested in picking up any
more corn, but I think some trading houses there plan to get some
more corn," a trader said.

Chinese corn coming into Southeast Asia was seen by the trade
at about $148-$150 a tonne C&F on a Panamax for April/May
shipment while Argentine corn was priced at $144-$146 a tonne C&F
for May/June shipment.

"The Argentine harvest would be in full swing at that point,"
a trader said.

U.S. corn coming into the region was being quoted by traders
in Singapore a few dollars above Chinese-origin.

"U.S. corn is not really being considered at the moment," one
grain trader said.

"Chinese corn sales are already over a million tons and they
could eventually be something between 1.5 to 2.0 million tons,"
one grains analyst said. "Korea is the biggest buyer. Japan has
taken a few cargoes. The rest of it has been bought by the
Malaysians, the Philippines and Indonesia."

But the Chinese corn spigot may be turned off soon after the
sharp overnight fall in futures prices on the Chicago Board of
Trade (CBOT), traders said.

The May CBOT contract shed 11-1/4 U.S. cents to end at $2.94-1/2
a bushel.

"If the May contract goes back to $2.80 (a bushel), the Chinese
may turn it off at that point," a dealer said.

Regional dealers said Malaysia and Indonesia have bought around
150,000 tons of corn each since the beginning of the year
although most of the grain was purchased recently.

Of the amount bought by Indonesia, about 30,000-50,000 tons
came from China while the rest is mostly U.S. corn. In Malaysia,
the volume of corn acquired from China probably reached some
100,000 tons, the traders said.

"Malaysia and Indonesia are trying to lock up their forward
supplies while the going is good," one dealer said.

Thailand remains sidelined in the corn market until the
government's Commerce Ministry announces the guidelines on its
zero-tariff corn import scheme.

But the Thais were reported to be in the market to buy some
30,000 tons of U.S. wheat for prompt April shipment while putting
in inquiries for soybean prices, traders said.

The soymeal business remained in the doldrums even though the
Indonesians have open positions for about 100,000 tons of imports
for May/July while the Malaysians are in for one Handy-sized ship
during the same period.

"The people are paralyzed," one trader said, adding though
that buyers may have no choice and would have to secure their
positions.

"Soymeal remains on the high side and everybody believes the
price will eventually come off," another dealer said. "U.S. meal
is just not competitive at the moment."

U.S. meal coming into Southeast Asia was quoted by the trade
at around $343-$345 a tonne C&F on a Panamax for May/July
shipment, up sharply from last week's quote of $333-$335 a tonne.