June 12, 2008

Japan purchases feed wheat and barley, lower than planned

Japan's Ministry of Agriculture imported 82,000 tonnes of feed barley and 9,000 tonnes of feed wheat on Wednesday (June 11, 2008), which fell short of the intended purchase volume.

The country originally planned to buy up to 301,000 tonnes of feed barley and 63,000 tonnes of feed wheat under its simultaneous buy and sell (SBS) system.

Yet the number of bidders was limited due to high market prices and users held onto stocks, a Japanese official said.

The official said feed barley was bought at a weighted average price of JPY46,025 (US$429) per tonne.

The ministry said it will buy 200,000 tonnes of feed wheat and 1.41 million tonnes of feed barley in the fiscal year to next March.