Replies to post #4414 on The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[wow_happens28]

China buys Iowa GM soy, Mexico rejects GM corn

Mixed bag for MON as the story I just posted shows China MAY be buying GM soy from Iowa, but Mexico rejects GM corn from MON

http://www.naturalnews.com/031295_Mexico_GMO_corn.html

"In 2009, Mexico decided to allow Monsanto to plant small GM corn test sites on the condition that the company could both prove that its crops were resistant to pests and pesticides, and that they could provide economic benefits to Mexico. Monsanto has yet to show that the crops actually benefit people rather than its own pocketbook, and of course the multinational biotechnology company has yet to submit a single legitimate safety study for its crops."

[DewDiligence]

That article is an apt synopsis of the raison d’etre of this board. It makes a good bookend with the article in #msg-51490876.

[DewDiligence]

World Bank reports on “China 2030”:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/business/global/world-bank-calls-for-changes-in-chinese-economy.html

Mr. Zoellick said in news conferences on Monday that he was reassured that the government would undertake bold changes and that he expected China’s economy to remain strong this year, with a soft landing likely. The 400-page report, however, says little about the immediate challenges facing China’s economy. Instead, it lays out a road map packed with recommendations that the authors hope will lead to gradual reforms introduced over many years, if not over a decade or more. If all goes well and China undertakes serious changes, the study predicts, its economy could grow by about 8 percent a year for the next few years and could sustain average annual growth of about 6.6 percent for nearly 20 years.

Executive summary (3 pages):
http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/China-2030-executive_summay.pdf

Overview (73 pages):
http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/China-2030-overview.pdf

Slide set (12 pages):
http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/China-2030-overview.pdf

Full report (400 pages):
http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/China-2030-complete.pdf

[DewDiligence]

Corn Price Surges on Presumed Exports to China

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304811304577370222848787882.html

›April 27, 2012, 4:26 p.m. ET
By OWEN FLETCHER

CHICAGO—Corn prices jumped 4.6% after the federal government reported the sixth-largest export sale ever for the grain, which analysts believe is headed for China.

The sale, the latest indication of the Chinese appetite for U.S. corn, coincided with analysts' expectations in recent weeks that China would make a large purchase from the U.S. to help replenish its reserves. China's state-owned grain-stockpiling enterprise, China Grain Reserves Corp., said in March that it would continue to import corn this year if it found a need or if doing so would be profitable.

As China's middle class expands, the country is using more corn as feed for livestock to produce meat and in food products like sweeteners [no kidding].

But the confirmation of a big sale renewed concerns that Chinese demand could stretch already-tight U.S. inventories of corn, pushing prices above their trading range of the past two weeks. Corn for May delivery rose 29 cents, to settle at $6.53 a bushel Friday at the Chicago Board of Trade.

"It's quite clear that the Chinese are going to need to be in this market and continue to need to make purchases," Jason McKibben, an analyst with commodities brokerage AgriSource Inc. in West Des Moines, Iowa.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday said private exporters reported selling 1.44 million metric tons of corn for delivery to "unknown destinations" during the 2012-13 marketing year, which begins Sept. 1. Analysts assume the buyer is China. A representative at China Grain Reserves wasn't immediately available to comment.

Only five other corn sales have been larger since the USDA instituted its reporting system in 1977, including two sales to the Soviet Union in 1989 and 1991, two sales to unknown buyers in 1979 and a sale to China in 1994.

The USDA on Friday also reported another 120,000 metric tons of corn sold for delivery to China, as a confirmed buyer, in the current marketing year.

The sales capped a string of corn export-sale announcements by the USDA this week. Since Monday, the USDA has reported corn-export sales of 2.84 million metric tons to China or unknown buyers. July corn futures, the most actively traded contract, closed up 18 cents, or 3%, at $6.2550 a bushel Friday. December corn rose by less than the May and July contracts, however, as traders expect a large U.S. crop this year to help replenish supplies. December futures closed up 3.75 cents, or 0.7%, at $5.3875 a bushel.

China's purchases of U.S. corn have been irregular in past years, but many analysts expect them to become more consistent. In the first quarter this year, China's corn imports surged to 1.74 million metric tons, nearing the 1.75 million tons volume imported in all of 2011, according to Chinese customs data. The U.S. accounted for almost all of the trade.

Meanwhile, soybean prices rose on continued worries about strong export demand and tightening global supplies. The International Grains Council on Friday cut its estimate of South American soybean output for the sixth time since September, bringing the projected drop to 15%. CBOT May soybeans rose 15.50 cents, or 1%, to $14.9675 a bushel.‹