China has imposed a 178.6% import duty under "Anti-dumping Regulations of the People's Republic of China" on US origin sorghum effective from April 18, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.
The duty added to the measures imposed by China in an ongoing spat since the US announced steel tariffs.
The new "margin call" formula on sorghum said the 178.6% duty must be paid on top of the import value of the goods, including VAT.
"There are cargoes washed-out everywhere as a result of this measure" an Asia-based trader said. "Some of these cargoes are in-house business between US based exporters and their China-based companies. All these cargoes will have to find a new home and are offered on the distressed market."
The US is the world's biggest exporter of sorghum, with about 6 million mt exported in 2016/17, according to data US Department of Agriculture data.
China, in turn, has been importing most of those volumes.
The anti-dumping measure on sorghum hit Chicago corn futures. Traders said that cargoes which do not find their way into China will eat into South East Asian feed demand for corn and feed wheat.
Sorghum offers into Thailand and Vietnam were heard as low as $140-$150/mt, more than a $50/mt discount to corn.
