May 10, 2004

China's Corn Market Generally Quiet During the Labor Day Holiday (May 10, 2004)
 
An eFeedLink Exclusive Report
 

China's corn market was generally quiet during the weeklong Labor Day holiday. Procurement activities in all corn-producing regions during the holiday were almost at a standstill. According to trade participants, the selling and buying activities in corn-producing regions during the holiday period were generally stagnant.

Prices in China's corn-buying regions have been low for a while. Corn that is displaying signs of turning bad is already being sold at even lower prices. With prices in corn-producing areas already at relatively high levels, there is no profit to be made by traders and some may even incurred losses. Therefore, the small volume of corn being transported presently is the balance quantity from an agreement signed earlier. No new supplies of corn were contracted in recent weeks.

According to industry insiders, bad-quality grains would be abundant during the period before May 20. As such, corn prices in the Chinese market would be at their lowest during this period.

However, when the current supply of corn, which have high-moisture content and of inferior quality, is exhausted, China's corn market will display a new wave of price increase, market analyst forecast.