Traders in Japan are also expected to buy soyabeans for December loading, although Japan's requirements for the oilseed are believed to be low.
For corn, Japanese buyers will be seeking within the next two weeks to complete purchases for loading in December. Some may also start buying for the first quarter of next year, traders said.
"I think we will most probably be seeing some buying this week," a leading Japanese corn trader said. Purchases for December were slowed due to a rise in premiums and strong freight rates, he said.
He said buyers would continue to be sensitive to freight rates. He estimated remaining Japanese corn purchases for December at about 750,000 to 800,000 tonnes.
Japanese companies generally buy about 3 million tonnes of feed corn for each quarter. Traders said the cost of transporting commodities such as grain from the US Gulf to Asia was quoted on both sides of $50 per tonne for modern Panama rates.
The levels, although similar to those quoted a week, are at about a four-month high. South Korean feed buyers is expected to seek corn for arrival in January and onwards these weeks as shipping costs are likely to maintain a firm tone. "We expect our clients to continue seeking feed corn this week to cover their needs for January arrival as freight rates are likely to stay firm," a trader with a Seoul-based foreign grain supplier said. He said South Korean buyers have to buy about 500,000 tonnes of corn for January shipment. In the soyabean market, Japanese traders are expected to continue covering their requirements for December, which one trader estimated as being about half completed.
The volume that Japan purchases is expected to be low as Japanese crushers revise down their production plans. "I can't provide an exact figure, but the feeling I get is that import volumes for December will be lower than last year," the trader said.
Government data shows Japan's soyabean imports in December 2004 amounted to a little over 335,000 tonnes, down almost 5 percent from November and down about 38 percent year-on-year.
Japanese oilseed crushers have been forced to slash production of oil to adjust inventories, due to an influx of cheap imported products.