Market News & Headlines >> South Korea Snaps up Corn

South Korean feed makers went on a corn buying spree this week, possibly looking to cover a good chunk of their spring needs ahead of key USDA reports due out Jan. 12.

South Korean buyers may have purchased as much as 1 million metric tons of corn late this week, with much of it likely to be from the U.S., export traders told Reuters News Service on Friday.

Major Feedmill Group bought 391,000 metric tons of corn in a tender for up to 420,000 tons that closed on Thursday morning. Meanwhile, South Korea’s largest feed maker, Nonghyup Feed Inc. bought 266,000 tons in a tender for up to 560,000 tons that closed on Friday morning.

Feed Leaders Committee group also bought 122,000 tons of corn on Friday, South Korean corn processing association, KOCOPIA, bought 55,000 MT of corn on Thursday.

All of the purchases were listed as optional origin and all of them were for April or May delivery, which favors purchases of U.S. corn.