The top importer of the crop is turning to Brazil
Major US corn buyer China has been reducing imports from the country due to weak demand and cheaper supplies from Brazil, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
Chinese buyers have reportedly canceled 832,000 tons of US corn orders in the past three weeks, while ramping up purchases from fellow BRICS member Brazil, which is projected to pass the US as the top exporter this year.
According to the report, citing traders, US corn is now less competitive, with supplies from Brazil around $30 a ton cheaper for delivery in the third quarter. Weak domestic demand for corn as animal feed was also listed among the reasons behind the cancelations.
“Demand for corn is really poor,” Wang Xiaoyang, a senior analyst with Sinolink Futures in one of the top grain-growing provinces, Henan, told Bloomberg. “Feed producers are using a lot of wheat to replace corn as prices keep falling.”
The report indicated that wheat prices are around 180 yuan ($26) a ton cheaper than corn in Henan and may decline further.
Meanwhile, traders and analysts pointed out that struggling hog farmers are seeking to cut feed costs, “so replacing corn with wheat is a natural choice.”
Customs data shows that Chinese corn imports hit a record of over 28 million tons in 2021, before falling to about 21 million tons last year.
READ MORE: Chinese food security push poses threat to US – report
China is reportedly seeking to shift away from its heavy reliance on the US and Ukraine for corn by diversifying suppliers, amid geopolitical uncertainty threatening the country’s food security. This month, China also received its first shipload of feed corn from South Africa, another fellow member of BRICS.......More Below
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Unit says Iran will consider the Israeli regime’s shelters “legitimate targets” if residential areas in the country come under attack.
In a post published on social media platform X on Tuesday, the IRGC said that any strikes on residential areas in Iran would give Iran’s armed forces the right to attack Israeli shelters in the occupied lands.
The IRGC stated that it has intelligence on the blueprints and the exact locations of these shelters.
Iran began its Operation True Promise 4 after the US and Israel launched their joint military aggression against the Islamic Republic in late February by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and several senior Iranian officials.
In its latest wave of attacks, the IRGC said it rained down missiles on the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
Iranian armed forces have also pounded American military bases and ...
In a fresh wave of retaliatory strikes, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeted the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
The IRGC’s Public Relations Department said in a statement on Tuesday that it had carried out the 79th wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4 against the Israeli and American targets.
Deploying powerful Kheybar Shekan, Emad, and Sejjil missiles alongside IRGC Aerospace Force kamikaze drones, the operation successfully breached the regime's multi-layered air defense systems, the statement said.
The missiles, it stated, targeted Israel’s intelligence facilities in northern and central Tel Aviv, as well as military commercial and support centers in Ramat Gan and the Negev.
The missiles also hit Israel’s southern military logistics and command headquarters in Beersheba.
The missile strikes triggered widespread panic across Israel and forced the suspension of a Knesset (parliament) session on Tuesday.
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announces staging the 78th wave of its underway retaliatory Operation True Promise 4, targeting such highly sensitive Israeli targets as Dimona, Tel Aviv, and Eilat as well as several US military bases in the region.
In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC described the latest phase of the operation as a significant development featuring missiles raining down on enemy targets as the nation was leveling momentous support behind the Islamic Republic by attending millions-strong rallies with "clenched fists."
'A distinct record'
The latest phase, it noted, "has set a distinct record in the timeline of the war."
According to the statement, targets in the occupied port of Eilat, Dimona, a heavily fortified city that hosts the Israeli regime's notorious nuclear reactor in its vicinity, and northern Tel Aviv were struck using Emad and multi-warhead Qadr missile systems along with attack drones.
This was the second time the Corps was hitting Dimona, ...