October 21, 2004

China To Auction 260,000 MT Imported Wheat From Reserve

China plans to sell 260,000 metric tons of old imported wheat from its state reserve in an auction Oct. 25 in Tianjin City, according to a notice posted on the Tianjin Grains and Oils Wholesale Market's Web site.

The reserve wheat for sale was imported from Canada and the US in 1999, with Canadian wheat accounting for more than 80%.

TGOWM, the auctioneer and an affiliate of the Tianjin Grain Bureau, said in the notice any enterprise that is licensed to trade grains in China can participate in the auction.

The wheat stocks, owned by China Grain Reserves Corp., are stored in state warehouses in some coastal port cities, with more than half stored in Shanghai and Guangdong.

An official with TGOWM said the sale is a normal rotating practice of state reserves. China's local governments, mainly at the provincial and central levels, hold grain auctions each year to rotate old grain with new crop grain.

Delivery of the wheat being sold will be from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30.