Italy grain imports fall on fewer wheat, corn purchases

Italian grain imports fell in the first nine months of 2012 due to a drop in domestic wheat and corn purchases, according to the Associazione Nazionale Cerealisti.
Soft-wheat imports fell to 3.24 million tons costing €765.2 million from January through September, from 4.07 million tons and €995.2 million in 2011. Buying of durum wheat declined to 1.09 million tons worth €331.7 million, compared with 1.65 million tons and €457.9 million in 2011's first nine months.

Nine-month corn imports dropped to 1.43 million tons from 1.97 million tons, and the value fell to €332.2 million from €466.4 million, according to data.

China was net importer of corn, wheat, rice in 2011

China became a net importer of the three major grains — corn, wheat and rice — in 2011, according to China's vice minister of agriculture, who said the dependence of foreign grain must be given great attention.
According to the information the Ministry of Agriculture provided, China's total import of agricultural products reached $94.87 billion in 2011, up 30.8 percent from 2010. As for the three major grains, corn import was 1.754 million tons, up 11.5 percent; wheat import was 1.258 million tons, up 2.2 percent; and rice import was 59,800 tons, up 54 percent.

Japan doubles grain imports from Europe, may hit record

Japan has doubled its grain purchases from Europe since November 2011, opening the potential for a record volume of imports from the region in 2012 as local feed mills look for cheaper alternatives to U.S. corn supplies, according to reports.
Japanese corn purchases from the Black Sea region (Ukraine, Romania and Hungary) reached 1.5 million metric tons for shipments from November 2011 to March, said Nobuyuki Chino, president of Continental Rice Corp. Imports may increase further unless corn from Argentina and Brazil, which normally compete with U.S. grain for sales to the Asian market, becomes cheaper, he said. European shippers are currently offering corn to Japanese buyers at prices more than $20 per metric ton cheaper than the U.S., according to analysts, taking advantage of depreciating currencies against the U.S. dollar. Japan imported 10.8 million metric tons of corn for feed in the 2011 fiscal year, of which 9.5 million (88 percent) was from the U.S. Argentina was the second-largest supplier with 690,000 metric tons, followed by Brazil with 434,000 metric tons. Japan also imports 4 million metric tons of corn per year for food and other purposes.

Russia to increase grain production

Elena Skrynnik, the Minister of Agriculture of Russia, announced the country would grow up to 120-125 million tons per year of grain in 10-15 years, say reports. This gain will come from the use of additional lands and increased yields.
These volumes will allow Russia to double current exports to 40-50 million tons to Central and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Southern Europe and Africa. It may also spur the modernization of grain storage and transportation in Russia.