SD Corn tours China, spots potential

South Dakota Corn board presidents, Gary Duffy and David Fremark took part in a recent United States Meat Export Federation trip to China where they toured the country while meeting with government officials.

“The goal of our trip was to see what potential demands China has for American corn,” said South Dakota Corn Growers Association President, Gary Duffy, a farmer and rancher from Oldham, South Dakota.

Several sources indicate that China will need to import additional feed sources with the growing population and current drought, but prices will play a determining factor as to where those grains come from.

“I expect them (China) to be buying more American corn to feed their expanding dairy, hog and poultry operations,” said Duffy. “China has a very large middle class that is growing and looking to enhance their diet by consuming more meat.”

China is much different than the United States in that they have around 400-500 million farmers at subsistence levels on two to three acres, although a growing demand for meat in the larger urban centers is changing the countries agricultural landscape.