January 25, 2014
China took advantage of falling grain prices last month to lay in a huge supply. The Middle Kingdom imported 820,968 metric tons of corn and corn-based animal feed. Most of it came from the American Midwest.
But somewhere between Decatur and Shanghai, trouble arose. In recent weeks, Chinese inspectors have sent back roughly 600,000 tons of U.S. grain, saying it flunked their quality-control standards. By rejecting such a vast amount of corn, China has roiled the marketplace and shattered trade relations.
China says the problem is genetically modified crops.