March 27, 2008

China's corn price stabilizing despite continued increases in global markets

China's corn price went stable in February despite of the continued price hike on the international market, according to the market monitoring information released by the Ministry of Agriculture.

The average wholesale price of corn in  major corn- planting areas reached RMB 1,638/tonne in February, up 1.3 percent compared to the previous month.

The average wholesale price in major corn-selling area was RMB 1,953 /tonne, up 2.0 percent on-month

However, on a year-to-year basis corn in major planting areas have risen 15 percent while that in major selling areas rose 16.8 percent.

Worried about exports driving inflation at home, China all but snuffed out corn exports this year.

In January, China only exported 15,822 tonnes of corn, a 98-percent drop compared to the same month last year.

In fact, traditional markets like South Korea and Japan had been largely abandoned.

Meanwhile, corn powder exports have risen to 17,100 tonnes, nearly 86 times what it was last year.

China's corn imports in January, mainly from the US, also fell 73 percent compared to the same month last year.