Chinese buyers have halted purchases of distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) from the US due to concerns that China could initiate a fresh anti-dumping investigation into imports of the product, Reuters reported last week, citing industry sources.
China is the largest DDGS buyer in the world and meets its demand almost entirely with imports from the US, which, in turn, is the biggest exporter globally, the news agency noted. DDGS is a by-product from the production of corn ethanol that is used as feed ingredient.
According to two industry sources, an anti-dumping request has been filed by Chinese ethanol companies with the country’s commerce ministry. The latter has not responded to Reuters, requesting confirmation.
China launched an anti-dumping probe into DDGS imports from the US in late 2010. The investigation, which was dropped in the middle of 2012, caused a slowdown in Chinese imports.
An article in Farmers Daily last week called on Chinese authorities to take action to control DDGS imports from the US, saying they were hurting the local ethanol industry and adding to China’s supply surplus of corn.
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