South Korea, the world’s third-largest corn buyer, plans to purchase a grain elevator at a U.S. production site, and acquire a stake in an elevator for grain exports this year, the government said on Thursday.
Asia’s fourth-largest economy said earlier this month that it was planning to establish its own grain trading company in Chicago in the first half of 2011 as it seeks to mitigate the impact of global food price volatility.
Last month South Korea said it would import 4 million tonnes of grains, or 30 percent of total imports, directly in 2020 through a new supply system to reduce dependency on global majors and increase food security.