Agriculture specialists say a pest infestation problem – Fall armyworm – in Japan’s corn crop is not severe enough to affect import demand, the Wall Street Journal reported, undercutting hopes that a pact with Japanese buyers would help cut into the big U.S. stockpile of corn.
The conflicting signals over the grain are among the complications U.S. farm exporters face as they adjust to diminished agriculture purchases from China. Corn is one of many commodities at the heart of restructuring supply chains as a result of the U.S./China trade dispute, and the search for new markets shows how tough it will be for farmers to match production to demand in foreign markets, the article notes.
“Farmers turned to more corn production after China stopped buying U.S. soybeans, creating an inventory surplus that has sent prices tumbling,” the paper said.
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