November 10, 2010

China sells 23% of corn reserves

The government sold 23% of the 298,200 tonnes of corn reserves offered at a regular auction Tuesday (Nov 9), the state-backed China National Grain and Oil Information Centre said.

Demand weakened from last week, when the government sold 31% of a much larger offer of 788,400 tonnes.

The average auction price Tuesday was RMB1,618 (US$243)/tonne, down from RMB1,650 (US$248)/tonne last week.

Grain authorities have been releasing corn from stockpiles in weekly auctions to stave off price increases.