January 26, 2011

Corn demand at China's state auction falls slightly 

China sold 152,913 tonnes of corn out of 1.79 million tonnes offered at auctions Tuesday (Jan 25), down slightly from 174,004 tonnes last week, the state-backed China National Grain and Oil Information Centre said.

The prices of corn sold to southern distribution areas such as Guangdong province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were much higher compared with other producing areas such as Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning.

A total of 36,412 tonnes of corn - all the corn offered for Guangdong - was sold at an average price of RMB1,911 (US$290)/tonne, far lower than market prices of about RMB2,200 (US$334)/tonne, while auctions in Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Jiangsu attracted no bids.

The government has arranged four corn auctions so far this year, selling about 720,000 tonnes.