China launches probe into US sorghum imports

BEIJING, Feb 04 (Reuters): China has launched an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into imports of sorghum from the United States, the Ministry of Commerce said on Sunday, less than a fortnight after US President Donald Trump slapped steep tariffs on imports of solar panels and washing machines.

Beijing's action is expected to immediately hit demand for the upcoming U.S. sorghum crop, exports of which are largely used to feed China's huge livestock sector, and send shivers through the entire U.S. farm sector.

China is the top buyer of U.S. sorghum as well as soybeans, the United States' most valuable export to the world's No. 2 economy.

"I personally believe this is China's response to Trump's action on washing machines," said Li Qiang, chief analyst at agriculture consultancy Shanghai JC Intelligence Co Ltd.

"If he takes any further measures, they will consider soybeans," he added.

The U.S. shipped 4.76 million tonnes of sorghum to China in 2017, the bulk of China's roughly five million tonnes of imports of the grain that year, and worth around $1.1 billion, according to Chinese customs data.

That makes it almost twice as valuable as exports of Chinese aluminium alloy sheet to the U.S., also subject to recent trade action by Washington, which is being seen as another possible trigger for Beijing's move.

Like the U.S. aluminium investigation, China's commerce ministry investigation into sorghum was self-initiated.