The monthly volumes were the biggest since November 2013, when exporters shipped a record 609,938 tonnes of DDGS to China, the USDA data showed. U.S. exports of DDGS to all global destinations in April totaled 928,120 tonnes, the most since 1.086 million tonnes were shipped in August.
China has ramped up purchases of DDGS, a byproduct of corn-based ethanol, after approving for import late last year the genetically modified corn variety Agrisure Viptera, developed by Syngenta AG and known as MIR 162.
China earlier rejected more than 1 million tonnes of corn and DDGS cargoes that, officials claimed, contained the unapproved GMO variety. U.S. DDGS exports to China reached a low of only 4,689 tonnes in November of 2014 before the country resumed buying.
"We like the big shipments," a U.S. DDGS export trader said. "You'll probably see this continue for May, June and July, based on what we're seeing right now."
Importers in China favor DDGS, sorghum and barley as cheaper alternatives to high-priced domestic corn.
