October 9, 2008

 

China corn prices stable in northeast, lower in other areas

China's corn prices Wednesday (October 8) were stable in major producing areas of the northeast compared with levels before last week's National Day holidays.

 

However, the prices were lower in mid-range producing areas and consumption regions.

 

Corn prices in Harbin in Heilongjiang province were stable around RMB1,620 a tonne. In Shekou port in Guangdong province prices were between RMB1,780-RMB1,820/tonne, down RMB20/tonne.

 

Trading was light as old crop volume is limited while traders were waiting for the new crop to enter the market, said analysts.

 

The upcoming new supply and weak feedmeal consumption weighed on the market, they said.

 

China had harvested 46.7 million hectares, or 63 percent of its autumn grain as of Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture said late Tuesday (October 7).

 

Of the total, 21.5 million hectares of corn, or 71 percent of corn acreage has been harvested, it said.

 

In an updated report issued Wednesday, China National Grain and Oils Information Center kept its forecast for corn output this year unchanged at 156 million tonnes, up 2.4 percent from a year earlier.

 

However, higher input costs in the major producing areas in the northeast helped to support prices in that region, as there was less rain compared with mid-range producing areas, and farmers need to irrigate the land, said an analyst at Chicorn Network.

 

US$1 = RMB6.8364 as of October 9, 2008