November 7, 2005

China's Henan sells 430,000 tonnes wheat at RMB1,342/tonne

China's Henan province sold about 430,000 tonnes of old wheat from local reserves at an average price of about RMB1,342/tonne at an auction Saturday, an official with the auctioneer Henan Grains Trading and Logistics Market said Monday.

That was less than half of the more than 900,000 tonnes of wheat stocks that the market put up for sale for local governments, according to the official.

The wheat, produced in Henan between 1998 and 2003, had been stored as reserves at various locations in the province, the official said.

"It's unclear whether the local governments will hold further sales for the remaining stocks," he said.

The official did not disclose the highest and the lowest prices at which the wheat was sold. Nor did he say what the floor prices set for the auction were.

Currently, prices for wheat produced this year in Henan are about RMB100/tonne higher than the average price at which the wheat was sold Saturday.

On Friday, Zhengzhou Grains Wholesale Market sold about 250,000 tonnes out of 447,000 tonnes of imported wheat from state reserves at an average price of RMB1,843/tonne.

The two auctions were part of a wheat trade fair held Nov 4-5 in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province.