April 21, 2004

China's Henan Province To Sell 2.5 Million MT Wheat

China's Henan province will hold an auction Wednesday to sell about 2.5 million metric tons of heat from state reserves, traders said.

This will be the fourth wheat auction this year by Henan, the top wheat producing region in China. China's provincial governments have held several auctions this year to keep domestic grain prices under check.

Wednesday's auction will be held in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province.

The Henan Grain Trade and Logistics Market, which conducts the auction, has fixed the minimum price at which bids would be accepted at RMB1,480 ($1=RMB8.277) a ton, said the traders.

The auction official with the market couldn't be reached for comment immediately.

In the open market, normal grade wheat was offered around RMB1,500/ton in central Henan Wednesday, down about RMB40/ton from prices in early April.