(Notícia em Inglês)
The United States Department of Agriculture says China's food security objectives may clash with its energy independence and environmental objectives, limiting the development of biofuels, according to the latest publication by the US International Trade Commission.
The United States Department of Agriculture says China's food security objectives may clash with its energy independence and environmental objectives, limiting the development of biofuels, according to the latest publication by the US International Trade Commission.
The study, titled China's Agricultural Trade: Competitive Conditions and Effects on US Exports says the development of China's biofuels industry affects China's agricultural production mix as it diverts output away from human and animal consumption into use as a fuel and contributes to increased imports of feedstock sources. China is the world's second largest corn-producing country, using the grain primarily for animal feed, and ethanol production and prior to 2010, it imported very little corn.
Like wheat, the Chinese government views corn as important for national food security and provides support for domestic corn growers by guaranteeing prices for domestic corn from state-owned enterprises and by providing subsidized seed, while controlling exports to ensure that corn is available for domestic use. But strong demand, coupled with poor production in 2009-2010 led China to import around 1.5 million mt of US corn and in 2010, China became a net corn importer.
platts.com»
Like wheat, the Chinese government views corn as important for national food security and provides support for domestic corn growers by guaranteeing prices for domestic corn from state-owned enterprises and by providing subsidized seed, while controlling exports to ensure that corn is available for domestic use. But strong demand, coupled with poor production in 2009-2010 led China to import around 1.5 million mt of US corn and in 2010, China became a net corn importer.
platts.com»