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Corn Futures (C) — China's Quikest-Moving Agricultural Giant
Corn on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is China's benchmark feed-grain contract — the agricultural contract institutional desks use to express views on Chinese livestock demand, import flows, and state reserve policy. Volume is consistently enormous and the tape is famously clean.
Contract Specifications
| Exchange | Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) |
| Symbol | C |
| Underlying | No. 2 yellow corn (domestic grade) |
| Contract size | 10 metric tons per lot |
| Price quote | CNY (¥) per metric ton |
| Minimum tick | ¥1 per ton = ¥10 per lot (≈$1.40) |
| Daily price limit | Dynamic band set by the exchange (typically ±4% to ±8% around the prior settlement) |
| Day session (Beijing) | 9:00–10:15, 10:30–11:30, 13:30–15:00 |
| Night session (Beijing) | 21:00–23:00 |
| Contract months | Jan / Mar / May / Jul / Sep / Nov (main contracts rotate seasonally) |
| Last trading day | 10th trading day of the delivery month (shifted for holidays) |
| Exchange margin (reference) | Roughly 7–12% of contract value depending on the contract month and volatility window |
Specifications are reference values compiled from exchange publications. Margin ratios and price limits are adjusted dynamically — the exchange's latest announcements always prevail.
What the Price Actually Buys You
At a typical price of ¥2,400/ton, one lot controls ¥24,000 (≈$3,400) of corn — with margin near 8–10%, you control it from roughly ¥2,000–2,400 (≈$300). Every ¥1 move = ¥10 per lot.
Because contract value is modest and liquidity is deep, corn is the classic "first agricultural contract" for Chinese retail traders — and the one prop desks use for grain-flavor exposure without the volatility of oilseeds.
What Moves Corn
- Chinese livestock and feed demand. Corn is pig and poultry feed first. Hog cycle expansion = corn demand surge; ASF outbreaks = demand collapse. The hog herd cycle is corn's business cycle.
- State reserve and auction policy. Sinograin's reserve releases and acquisitions, plus annual temporary storage auctions, can flood or drain supply — policy headlines move the market fast.
- Import quotas and US/Brazil crops. China imports corn under a TRQ system. US and Brazilian harvest outcomes and freight costs feed directly into import parity and domestic prices.
- Substitute grains. Sorghum, barley, wheat and broken rice compete in feed rations. Relative prices of substitutes cap and floor corn's upside.
- Weather during key windows. Planting (April–May) and pollination (July) weather in the Northeast corn belt drive the market's seasonal volatility.
Why Traders Trade It
Trend quality with low drama. Corn trends patiently. It is the contract Chinese traders recommend for learning positional patience — multi-week trends without the limit-move chaos of chemicals.
Session fit. The Beijing night session (21:00–23:00) overlaps US morning — you can trade US crop-weather reactions live. The day session maps to US evening and EU morning.
What to Watch Out For
- Policy shocks. Reserve auction announcements and TRQ allocations can gap the market. Size positions modestly around policy windows.
- Slow grind risk. In quiet feed-demand periods corn can chop in a tight range for weeks — a trend system's drawdown phase. Respect it.
Trading Corn on XS Select
All XS Select evaluations include Corn and every other major Chinese commodity contract, on real Wenhua Finance market data with institutional liquidity. Commission is set at 2x the exchange standard (charged on open and close) — replicating professional trading conditions.
Ready to trade it? Take the challenge from $29 — pass the evaluation and earn a 10x bonus plus a funded performance account with 50% profit share. Sign up →