Corn purchases by Japan may drop by about 2.1 percent this year as the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Miyazaki Prefecture has spurred a mass cull of pigs and cattle, according to Unipac Grain Ltd.
Feed-corn demand may decline by about 250,000 metric tons from last year's 12 million tons, said Nobuyuki Chino, president of the Tokyo-based grain trader. The government is culling 2.1 percent of the country's swine herd and 1.5 percent of its cattle and cows to prevent the disease from spreading beyond Miyazaki Prefecture, the second-largest pig-farming region and third-largest beef producer.
Japan is the world's biggest importer of corn.