December 26, 2006

China to monitor sale of stale grain
 

China's national grain watchdog plans to tighten market supervision to ban the sale of stale grain for human consumption.

The State Grain Administration issued two notices recently on the supervision of sales of old grain, normally used in the production of industrial alcohol.

The amount of stale grain sold to authorised companies would be restricted each time to six months' consumption, and the total amount must not exceed a company's annual requirements.

The move came in the light of news that grain more than three years old was sold as food for human consumption in certain cities such as Tianjin. Apparently, the grain was unsuitable for human intake.

Grain prices have seen a significant increase in China with the National Bureau of Statistics reporting the rise at 4.7 percent last month.

The government has already auctioned some 4.34 million tonnes of grain since last month in a bid to control prices.

The government will continue to intervene in the market periodically by selling grain reserves. The demand could further go up with the approach of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Food safety has become another issue in China with reports of poisonous substances found in honey, lard, pork, fish and salted ducks' eggs in various parts of the country.