China Corn Processing Industrial Situation and Outlook:
Starch and Ethanol
Xiaohui Wang, Beijing (China)
Summary
China is the second largest starch producer in the world, ranking only behind the US. The starch
industry has been one of the fastest growing industries in China since the beginning economic
reforms started in 1978. From 1978 to 2005, China’s starch production increased from 280
thousand metric tons to 11.1 million metric tons in 2005, growing at 15 percent annually. According
to CNGOIC estimates, China’s starch production will reach 13.0 million metric tons in 2006, up
17.8 percent from 2005. Corn is the major source in China’s starch production, accounting for 92
percent of the total starch output in 2005. Cassava starch accounts for about 5 percent of the total
starch output, a distant second place. Potato, sweet potato and wheat starch account for 3 percent
of the starch production in aggregate. Based on CNGOIC’s estimates, China’s output of all starch
will increase to 13 million metric tons in 2006. Meanwhile, corn starch output will be close to 12
million metric tons in 2006. Starch produced from other products will remain low due to the limited
supplies of raw inputs and quality related problem. Breaking down corn starch output data by
province, Shandong, Hebei and Jilin are the top provinces in China. Collectively, the corn starch
output of these three provinces accounted for 79.0 percent of the national total in 2005. Shandong
is the leading corn starch producing province in China with its output at 2 million metric tons in
2005, representing 41.2 percent of the national output. Hebei province produced over 1.9 million
metric tons of corn starch in 2005, accounting for 19 percent of the national total. Jilin province
produced close to 1.9 million metric tons of corn starch in 2005, comprising 18.6 percent of the
national output. China’s corn starch output is expected to continue to grow at a strong pace over
the next few years.
China’s corn starch production i