Ruling that its domestic producers have been “substantially” harmed, China’s Commerce Ministry announced anti-subsidy duties of 10-10.7 percent on imports of distillers dried grains, an ethanol co-product used as livestock feed, from the United States beginning on Friday, said Xinhua. China leads the world in DDG imports, most of them from the United States.
The trade group U.S. Grains Council said the decision was not a surprise since China announced anti-dumping duties of 33.8 percent of the value of the U.S. products last week. The trade group said DDGs, often a lower-priced feed ration, “play an important role in protecting Chinese feed producers and households against unpredictable swings in global commodity prices” and said it hoped that in the end, China will allow continued access for U.S.-made DDGs.
More than one-third of U.S. corn is used in making ethanol and 30 percent of each bushel is available after distillation as the protein-rich DDGs. Ethanol plants produce 39 million tonnes of DDGs each year, says the Grains Council. Some 11 million tons are exported, with more than 4 million tons shipped to China. If exports fall in volume, DDGs could affect the price of soymeal, another source of protein for livestock feeds, say analysts.