Over US$ 2 billion of corn imports in 9 months

Corn imports in the first nine months of this year, although decreased in volume, increased sharply in value compared to the same period last year and reached more than US$ 2 billion.

Vietnam spent over US$ 2 billion on corn imports in 9 months. Photo: TL.

According to the Industry and Trade Information Center, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam's corn imports in the first nine months of 2021 reached 7.68 million tonnes, with a total value of over US$ 2.17 billion. The average price was US$ 282.6 per tonne, up 40% over the same period in 2020. As a result, total import volume decreased by 9.4%, but total turnover increased by 27% over the same period in 2020.

In September 2021, corn imports reached 721,148 tonnes, worth US$ 222.2 million. The average price was US$ 308.1 per tonne, a sharp increase of 55.3% in volume, 55.9% in turnover, and 0.4% in price compared to August 2021. Compared to September 2020, corn imports decreased by 49.6% in volume, down 16.5% in turnover but increased sharply by 65.9% in price.

Corn is imported to Vietnam mainly from the three markets of Argentina, Brazil, and India. In which Argentina is the largest market. In the first nine months of 2021, corn imports from this market decreased by 33.4% in volume but increased by 0.3% in turnover and 50.6% in price. Total corn imports reached 4.01 million tonnes, equivalent to US$ 1.21 billion.

Corn imports from Argentina accounted for 52.3% of the total volume and 55.7% of the country's total corn imports.

Brazil ranks second. Corn imports from this market in the first nine months of 2021 reached 1.43 million tonnes, worth US$ 321.06 million, down 2.6% in volume but up 12.3% in turnover over the same period in 2020.

In addition, corn imports from the Indian market in 9 months increased dramatically by 55,567% in volume and 48.877% in turnover over the same period in 2020, reaching 1.09 million tonnes, worth US$ 306.73 million.

In recent days, world corn prices have increased by 1%. The reason is the forecast of heavy rain in the US's Midwest region last weekend and early this week, affecting corn harvest progress.

The domestic corn price currently is significantly lower than the imported corn price. Corn is in the harvest season, and corn trading will be active from the end of October and the beginning of November.