China's new wheat prices in major producing regions were higher in the week to Monday on strong demand, while old wheat prices mostly remained stable.

 

New wheat prices in Zhengzhou city in the major producing province of Henan were between RMB1,540-RMB1,600 a tonne, up RMB20-RMB40/tonne from a week ago.

 

New red wheat prices in Suzhou city in Jiangsu province were at RMB1,460/ton, up RMB20, while old wheat prices in Donghai in the same province were stable at RMB1,610-RMB1,630/ton.

 

Old wheat prices in Linyi in Shandong province were between RMB1,580-RMB1,600/ton, stable from a week earlier.

 

Grain reserve houses, flour processing plants and traders were actively buying new wheat, and the market widely expected demand for wheat to rise further, the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre said in a note, adding that the quality of the new wheat is better than last year's.

 

China has harvested 80 percent of its winter wheat, or more than 18.5 million hectares, as of Saturday, according to the latest data from the Ministry Of Agriculture.

 

However, buyers were reluctant to raise bidding prices beyond the minimum purchase prices set by the government due to limited funds.

 

The sales volume of new wheat is lower than that of the same period of last year, and farmers are unlikely to sell wheat actively while they are still expecting higher prices, said Hai Yang, an analyst at Zhengzhou Esunny Information & Technology Co.

 

The government sold 668,981 tonnes of the wheat it bought under the minimum purchase prices programme in previous years, or 30 percent of the 2.21 million tonnes it planned to sell.

 

It also sold 2,400 tonnes of imported wheat from its reserves, or 0.3 percent of the 958,000 tonnes it planned to sell.