Ex-work prices of key corn products
| Product | Price in Jan. 2025, RMB/t | Price in Dec. 2024, RMB/t | Changes |
| Corn | 2,021 | 2,035 | -0.69% |
| Corn starch (North China) | 2,770 | 2,780 | -0.36% |
| Furfural | 6,480 | 6,725 | -3.64% |
| Ethanol (food grade) | 5,100 | 5,150 | -0.97% |
| Monohydrate citric acid | 4,831 | 4,850 | -0.39% |
| Anhydrous citric acid | 5,267 | 5,267 | 0.00% |
| Maltose syrup 75% | 2,578 | 2,541 | 1.46% |
| Sorbitol syrup 70% | 3,650 | 3,700 | -1.35% |
| Crystalline sorbitol | 7,000 | 7,100 | -1.41% |
| Crystalline xylitol | 22,000 | 22,000 | 0.00% |
| HFCS 42 (Fructose: 42%) | 2,370 | 2,370 | 0.00% |
| HFCS 55 (Fructose: 55%) | 2,747 | 2,775 | -1.01% |
| Maltodextrin | 3,850 | 3,916 | -1.69% |
| Liquid maltitol 75% | 3,500 | 3,500 | 0.00% |
| Glucose monohydrate (food grade) | 3,577 | 3,520 | 1.62% |
| Monosodium glutamate | 7,085 | 7,145 | -0.84% |
| Erythritol | 12,500 | 12,500 | 0.00% |
| Mannitol (food grade) | 22,000 | 22,000 | 0.00% |
| Lysine hydrochloride 98.5% | 11,240 | 11,700 | -3.93% |
| Lysine sulfate 70% | 5,225 | 5,250 | -0.48% |
| Tryptophan | 54,500 | 55,000 | -0.91% |
| Threonine | 12,040 | 11,980 | 0.50% |
After months of a sluggish market, as the Chinese New Year approached in mid-January, corn prices began to show a recovery trend.
The policy of increasing national reserves played a key role in halting the corn price decline and supporting the upward momentum. Following the announcement in early December 2024 that it would continue to expand the scale of domestic corn storage in 2024, China Grain Reserves Group (Sinograin) issued another notice on 18 Dec., 2024, halting the release of imported corn. On 11 Jan., 2025, Sinograin announced plans to further increase the scale of domestic corn collection and storage in 2024.
Meanwhile, under the backdrop of low prices, farmers’ reluctance to sell their crops also provided strong support to the corn market. From the demand perspective, the seasonal effect of the Spring Festival boosted downstream demand in sectors like livestock farming and processing. Corn, as a primary feed ingredient, saw a surge in consumption. Additionally, corn deep-processing enterprises typically stock up ahead of the Spring Festival holiday to avoid uncertainties, such as post-holiday price increases, further driving market demand and supporting price growth.
Furthermore, the recent stabilization and rebound in overseas corn prices have provided an additional boost to the domestic corn market.
Looking ahead, concerns about the post-holiday peak in traditional grain sales and declining profitability in the livestock sector pose uncertainties for the corn market after the Chinese New Year. These factors are expected to limit further price increases.
You can get more information on China’s corn deep-processing industry by checking out NK Corn Deep-Processing China News or email us at contact@nkmarketresearch.com.
