CCM: China’s ex-works price of HFCS to go down throughout 2016 06-27-2016

In Q1 2016, the ex-works price of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) stayed sluggish in China. For instance, the average ex-works price of F55 HFCS was USD401/t (RMB2,625/t) on 16 March, down by 4% over USD416/t (RMB2,710/t) in Jan. This can be mainly attributed to:


- Decreased price of corn. According to CCM's price monitoring, the market price of corn was USD286/t (RMB1,870/t) on 16 March, down by 6% over Jan. This pulled down the production costs for HFCS and price also.  Threat from low-price corn from North China: the purchase of corn for temporary storage has been accelerated in Northeast China. By 15 March, the storage of corn harvested in 2014/15 (2014/15: Oct. 2014-Sept. 2015, similarly hereinafter) reached 97.16 million tonnes in the region, recording a historical high.


This resulted in the decreased circulation of corn from Northeast China in the market. As North China was not involved in the temporary storage programme, its supply of corn was sufficient and low-priced. According to CCM's research, the market price of corn from North China was about USD260/t (RMB1,700/t) on 16 March, vs. USD291/t (RMB1,900/t) for corn from Northeast China. The overall spot market was full of corn from North China


Notably, as the domestic spring ploughing of corn is coming, farmers are eager to selling off the corn, thus strongly inclining to lowering prices for sales promotion.


- Limited downstream demand. Before the Spring Festival, downstream enterprises had already stocked up HFCS sufficiently. After the Spring Festival, as the consumption was sluggish – demand for candy and beverages was restricted, downstream enterprises were running down their stocks mainly.


Monthly ex-works prices of F42 HFCS and F55 HFCS in China, Jan. 2015-March 2016

                                                               CCM fluoride china market report_Monthly ex-works prices of F42 HFCS and F55 HFCS in China
                                                                                                                     Source: CCM


It is expected that the HFCS price will continue falling throughout 2016, mainly because the price of corn will go down further.


- The target sales policy for temporarily-stored corn is to be issued. Targeted at specific enterprises, the corn stored for a relatively long term and having quality problem will be sold, given subsidy. It is supposed that the corn to be sold this time is that harvested in 2011/12 and 2012/13 planting seasons, probably targeted at alcohol producers (incl. ethanol producers) and subsidy given after use at USD31/t (RMB200/t). In order to sell such corn successfully, the pricing will be far below the market price, at about USD229/t (RMB1,500/t). This will pull down the market price of spot corn.


- The * auction policy for temporarily-stored corn is to come out. In view of the high storage (= 250 million tonnes) and in consideration of the failure in 2015 due to high auction price, the Chinese government, of great possibility, will down-regulate this price.  


* Auction policy: to be introduced after the purchase of corn (in 2014/15) for temporary storage comes to a close on 30 April, 2016.




It is worth noting that as the HFCS price is going down constantly, the price gap between HFCS and white sugar will be enlarged gradually, expected to push up the HFCS consumption. On 16 March, the market price of white sugar was around USD826/t (RMB5,400/t), up slightly over USD821/t  (RMB5,340/t) in Jan. Given that the price of white sugar will continue upturn, HFCS will be advantaged further regarding price.


This article comes from Sweeteners China News 1603, CCM



  

About CCM:

CCM is the leading market intelligence provider for China’s agriculture, chemicals, food & ingredients and life science markets. Founded in 2001, CCM offers a range of data and content solutions, from price and trade data to industry newsletters and customized market research reports. Our clients include Monsanto, DuPont, Shell, Bayer, and Syngenta. CCM is a brand of Kcomber Inc.

 

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Tag: HFCS  corn


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