12:36 - 30.08.2024

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August 30, Fineko/abc.az. This week, the country's authorities held a meeting with leading importers and asked them to stop purchasing barley and sorghum from abroad.

According to ABC.AZ, Bloomberg believes this move is China's latest attempt to ease excessive pressure on the domestic market ahead of a new harvest, which is also expected to be abundant. Earlier, authorities made a similar request to corn importers.

China is the world's largest importer of barley and sorghum, so a ban on importing these crops will be a serious blow to farmers in the US and Australia. The restrictions will not affect already contracted shipments but will impact deliveries starting in November.

Prices for corn, sorghum, and barley in China have reached a three-year low, and stocks in the south of the country are now at their highest in two years. From January to July, China imported 5.21 million tons of sorghum - almost twice as much as in the same period last year. The US share in this volume was 80%. Barley purchases for the same period increased by 67%, with most coming from Australia.