China sells 1.22 million tonnes corn reserves

China sold 1.22 million tonnes of corn at weekly state corn auctions on Tuesday (May 4), 88% of the amount on offer, with prices steady from last week.

China's corn planting will start late this week or next week as weather in the northeast, the country's major corn area, warms up. Planting in the area has been delayed for more than a week due to lower than normal temperatures.

Supplies of 800,100 tonnes in the northeast were sold at an average price of RMB1,734 (US$254) per tonne, steady at last week's price level, according to bidding results posted on the National Grain & Oil Trade Centre website.

Traders said the government is about to sell out of temporary reserves in the next week or two after sales over the past month and also last year. The government still holds permanent reserves, but the amount is a state secret.

Some feedmills and corn processors said they were keeping a close watch on US corn prices, but had not made a decision on importing because of concerns about the quality of US corn.

For state reserves outside the northeast, 423,100 tonnes out of 586,500 tonnes on offer were sold at an average of RMB1,864/tonne (US$273), the same price as last week.