China's corn imports surged in April, data from the country's customs authority showed.

Corn imports reached 380,000 tonnes last month, up 12,091.6 percent year on year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

China imported 940,000 tonnes of corn in the first four months of this year, up 201.9 percent compared with the same period of 2017.

Sorghum imports also rose last month, up 87.2 percent to reach 640,000 tonnes.

The total volume of imported sorghum dipped 1.6 percent in the Jan-April period, official data showed.