December 5, 2005

China's Shandong sells 79,000 tonnes wheat

China's eastern Shandong province sold about 79,000 tonnes of local wheat reserves out of the approximate 90,000 tonnes it put up for auction Nov 30, an auction official said Monday.

The wheat was sold at an average price of RMB1,408/tonne, with the lowest selling price at RMB1,400/tonne and the highest at RMB1,425/tonne, the official said.

Floor prices for the sale were set at RMB1,400/tonne and RMB1,410/tonne, depending on location and wheat quality.

The local government had initially planned to auction only 75,000 tonnes from its wheat reserves.

The government later decided to increase the intended sales volume, but the official did not provide a reason.

The wheat, stored in five government warehouses mostly located in the western part of Shandong, was harvested locally between 2000 and 2003, with a big portion produced in 2002.

This is the second sale that the local government has held this year to replace old reserves with new crop wheat.

In May, Shandong sold more than 56,000 tonnes of old wheat reserves at an average price of RMB1,380/tonne.