November 4, 2010

China to purchase soy in Northern provinces

In order to boost incomes, China's central grain reserve will buy soy this year in the top northern producing provinces, the State Administration of Grain said.

The government will start paying RMB3.80 per kilogram (US$0.57) for the soy harvested this year from November 1 to April 30 in Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia and Jilin, the agency said in a statement on its website.

"The current market price for new-crop soy is about RMB3.90-RMB4 (US$0.58-US$0.60) per kilogram, exceeding the government's price," said Chen Baomin, a manager at Jilin Grain Group Co. Most of the local harvest is used to make edible products such as tofu and soya sauce whereas imported genetically modified beans which have higher oil content are meant to be crushed into cooking oil and livestock feed. China is the biggest soy importer in the world. 

The government will only purchase beans which are harvested this year and they must meet the national standards, according to the statement. It also added that China Grain Reserves Corp. or Sinograin will administer the procurement.