May 21, 2009
China corn prices down slightly; farmers sell after planting
Corn prices in China's major producing areas were slightly lower in the week to Wednesday (May 20) as farmers started to sell their crops after the spring planting.
Corn prices in Nong'an in the major producing province of Jilin were around RMB1,500 a tonne, down RMB40/tonne from a week earlier.
The prices in another big producing province, Heilongjiang, were between RMB1,400-RMB1,500/tonne, compared with RMB1,440-RMB1,530 a week ago.
Farmers found time for sales as spring planting has almost been completed, but consumers stayed on the sidelines, waiting for the government's sales policies, analysts said.
The government bought around one-fourth of the corn China harvested last year, and the market has been expecting it to release the crop to the market ahead of the new October harvest.
"Trading lacks guidance since the government's corn purchases were completed, and both buyers and sellers are waiting for clearer signs of the government's policies," China Corn Network said in an article.
Meanwhile, weak demand from the feedmeal sector and industrial processing plants is unlikely to recover in the near term, so corn prices are likely to be stable ahead of the government's likely sales, analysts said.
