March 12, 2008

 

China's corn prices unchanged amid stable supply

 

 

China's corn prices were mostly unchanged in the week to Wednesday (March 12, 2008) on stable supply.

 

Average corn prices in Changchun city in the major producing Jilin province were at RMB1,380 a tonne, stable from a week ago.

 

Corn prices in Shandong province were at RMB1,730-RMB1,780/tonne, also stable from a week earlier.

 

Farmers in the producing regions increased sales volume to raise cash for the preparation of spring planting, while demand from the feedmeal sector also picked up.

 

Dwindling stocks, concerns on the ongoing drought, which may have negative impact on spring planting, as well as rising fertilizer prices and labor cost all helped to support corn prices.

 

Most farmers in the producing regions have only 50 percent of corn harvest volume at hand, Nanjing Grain Networksaid on its website recently. The government has also been buying corn from the market.

 

Meanwhile, several ministries and economic planner National Development and Reform Commission issued statements earlier this week on the transfer of corn from state reserves from producing regions in the northeast to major consumption provinces in the south.

 

China sold 39,415 tonnes of corn from state reserves Tuesday or 8.18 percent of the 481,752 tonnes it planned to sell.

 

The government has now sold a total of 878,770 tonnes from the state reserves since December, or 15.1 percent of the 5.83 million tonnes it plans to sell to help stabilize domestic feedmeal prices.