December 12, 2006

China to auction 1 million tonnes of wheat 

China will auction a total of 1 million tonnes of wheat Thursday (Dec 14), as part of the country's regular sales of wheat bought under the minimum purchase price programme.

The Anhui Grain Wholesale Market and Hebei Grains & Oils Wholesale Centre would sell a combined 650,000 tonnes, while Zhengzhou Grains Wholesale Market plans to sell 350,000 tonnes, the auctioneers said on their websites.

None of the auctioneers indicated the floor prices for the scheduled auctions.

China issued rules for grain auctions last Thursday, saying auctions of grains from interim state reserves would be held on a regular basis in order to ensure price stability.

Interim state reserves refer to grains bought under the government's minimum purchase price programme and grains imported by the country.

A total of 635,671 tonnes of wheat was sold through similar auctions last Thursday.