April 28, 2008

China to ship grain from north to south to stabilize prices

China's government said it would expedite the transport of grain from the northeast region to the south to ease the growing imbalance of supply and to curb rising prices.

The Ministry of Railway (MOR) said that railway authorities in the northeast provinces have been ordered to improve efficiency and send 10 million tonnes of grains out of the northeast to the south from May 1 to June 30.

Liu Zhijun, the minister of railways, assured that MOR would coordinate with various departments to prioritize grain shipment.

The northeast of China, consisting of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, has 16 percent of the country's arable land and contributes 16.6 percent of the national grain output, or 83.1 billion kilogrammes annually.

Transportation bottleneck has prevented immediate shipments to the country's southern part, where short supply has pushed up prices.