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China corn prices mostly stable; new harvest to weigh on price
Corn prices in China remained mostly stable in the week to Wednesday (September 12), but prices in major consuming regions in the south picked up slightly on higher feedmeal demand.
In Jilin, China's largest corn-producing province, prices of average-quality corn were quoted around RMB1,370 to RMB1,500 a tonne, unchanged from a week earlier.
In Heilongjiang province, another major corn-producing region in the northeast, prices were little changed at RMB1,300 to RMB1,400 a tonne.
However, in Guangdong province, a major consuming region in the south, prices rose by about RMB100 from a week ago to RMB1,760 to RMB1,780/tonne.
"Higher freight rates and rising demand for feedmeal in Guangdong have driven up prices a bit," said Wang Shiliang, a trader at Jilin Grains Centre.
However, "prices are not expected to rise much countrywide, as the new harvest is arriving around early October," Wang added.
China is expected to harvest its next crop of corn from the end of September, and analysts said the new harvest will weigh on market sentiment and cap further gains, despite lower output and stronger feed demand.
The China National Grain and Oils Information Centre estimated national corn output at 149 million tonnes last week, but industry players believe the actual figure could be lower.
The 2007 corn output is likely to fall by 2.1 percent on year to 142 million tonnes due to a drought in major producing regions in the northeast, said Fei Zhonghai, general manager of Zhonggu Futures Co., Wednesday in a conference in Dalian.
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