BEIJING (Dow Jones)--Import prices of U.S. corn fell Wednesday at key Chinese ports, taking a cue from a sharp two-day slump in bellwether Chicago corn futures.

A downturn in U.S. corn prices may signal China's re-entry into the market.

Landed prices of No. 2 corn for May delivery fell CNY35, or 1%, to CNY2,771 a metric ton in a single day, grain industry research house China Grain Network, or Cngrain.com, said in a report.

Chicago Board of Trade corn reached its highest levels since mid-2008 on April 11, but has since been under pressure from favorable global supply cues, compounded this week by a spate of long liquidation and a broad slump in commodities.

U.S. corn futures shed 1.5% Tuesday after dropping 2.9% Monday, and nearby-month corn fell a further three cents during Asian trading hours Wednesday to reach $7.16 a bushel.

U.S. grain lobbies have assessed China's import appetite this year around 2 million tons, but the government has been resisting hefty imports because it wants to preserve self-sufficiency in grain supply, and because corn prices in the U.S., the world's top producer, had risen to two-year highs.

Last year, China broke a 15-year run of maintaining mostly self-sufficiency in corn, importing 1.6 million tons of corn--largely from the U.S.--17 times more than in 2009.

Corn imports in the first three months of this year have slowed, falling 66% from a year earlier to 5,216 tons, partly due to a strong harvest last year.

However, rising spot corn prices in major producing areas of China indicate that demand continues to strengthen.

Demand in government corn auctions Wednesday peaked in the provinces of Shandong and Guizhou, where many downstream manufacturers and processors are based, reaching 90%-100% of offered stocks.

In Beijing, a high-consumption area, sales were around 63% of offered stocks.

"Spot corn prices are expected to ride on an acceleration of demand in the southern (consuming) regions," the Chicorn Network said in a note Wednesday.

Tight national corn reserve levels also suggest that China may return to the market. The corn stocks-to-use ratio, an indicator comparing grain reserves with consumption levels, fell to around 37% earlier this year, well below an average of 93% between 1993 and 2003, analysts said