JAPAN - Japan imported China-grown corn for livestock feed for the first time since February 2010 in March in order to ease shortages, according to the Japanese Ministry of Finance.

Nikkei Asian Review reports that Japanese livestock farms have suffered from a shortage of grain after heavy snowstorms in January and February caused massive export delays in the US - the world's leading grain producer.Delays to imports sparked concern among Japanese livestock farmers that the corn supply could dry up and pushed Japanese trading houses to import the grain from China.