March 22, 2006

 

China corn prices little changed

 

 

Corn prices in China's major producing regions were little changed in less active trading in the week to Wednesday (Mar 22), amid a balanced market.

 

Large processing enterprises have bought their fill and farmers are not keen to sell with only limited stocks left, analysts said.

 

In Jilin, China's largest corn-producing province, the price of average quality corn with little moisture was mostly unchanged at RMB1,180-1,200 a tonne.

 

Meanwhile, the average price in Dalian, a major port in northeastern Shandong province, where corn is transported from the north to the south, was unchanged at RMB1,280/tonne.

 

However, prices in Guangdong province, a major consumption area in the south, began to rise Tuesday, spurred by news the province will resume live poultry supplies to Hong Kong Sunday, said Wang Shiliang, an analyst with Jilin Grains Centre.

 

Prices remained largely unchanged before Monday, but were up RMB10 Tuesday to around RMB1,370/tonne.

 

Guangdong, a major provider of live poultry for Hong Kong and Macau, will transport 20,000 live poultry to neighbouring Hong Kong beginning Sunday, after shipments were suspended Mar 5 as bird flu killed a man in the province.

 

Although the supplies are set around two-thirds of what was before the ban, the figure is subject to change, depending on demand from Hong Kong.

 

If there are no more reports of local bird flu outbreaks, feed consumption will pick up in one or two weeks, and so will corn consumption, Wang said.

 

"The price will probably remain stable," he noted.