(Yicai Global) Dec. 20 -- China’s corn imports, which are set to exceed the quota next year, will come under control in the medium- and long-term as domestic production increases, so corn won’t follow in soybeans’ footsteps, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs told Yicai Global.

China’s corn output is likely to strike a balance with demand before long, thanks to supportive policies, said Xi Yinsheng, director of the Ministry’s Macroeconomic Research Office of the Research Center for Rural Economy.

China imported 26.23 million tons of corn in the first 10 months this year, more than three-and-a-half times what it did in the same period last year, according to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics.

But the country’s corn production is on the rise, boosted by rising prices and government support. The corn planting area expanded 5 percent this year from last year to 43.3 million hectares and output jumped 4.6 percent to 272.6 million tons.

Corn output is likely to grow at an annual rate of 2.4 percent over the next decade to reach 300 million tons by 2025 and 330 million by 2030, Xi said. Demand, meanwhile, will reach 310 million tons by 2025 and 330 million by 2030.

By contrast, the world’s largest soybean consumer imported 83 percent of its soybeans last year and the planting area shrank 14.8 percent this year from last year, making it more difficult for the country to wean itself off imports.

The ministry is advocating replacing corn and soybean in animal feed with cereals, so demand for corn has fallen. Policy changes can improve structural problems in the country’s food supply-demand balance and promote corn production, Xi added.

Editor: Kim Taylor