October 14, 2008

 

 

Wheat prices in China were higher in the week to Monday (October 13) as farmers were busy with autumn planting and were not actively selling.

 

Wheat prices in Zhoukou in major producer Henan province were between RMB1,620-1,630 a tonne, up RMB10-20 from a week earlier.

 

Wheat prices in Dezhou in major producer Shandong province were RMB10 higher at RMB1,750/tonne compared with a week earlier.

 

Flour processing plants raised their bidding prices as there were few farmers selling, said Ma Wenfeng, an analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant Ltd.

 

Analysts said the government is likely to raise its purchase prices for grain and increase subsidies to farmers in the coming year to encourage them to continue planting grains.

 

China must boost its agricultural output and guarantee grain security and supply of major agricultural products, Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday (October 5).

 

The meeting of the party's Central Committee reinforced its stance of increasing agricultural output and farmers' income, as well as improving infrastructure in the sector, said Xinhua.

 

The meeting set a target to effectively maintain the supply of grain and major agricultural products and double farmers' income by 2020, according to Xinhua.

 

Last Wednesday, the government sold 191,700 tonnes of wheat it bought under the minimum purchase price programme in previous years, or 99.6 percent of the 192,500 tonnes it planned to sell.

 

The wheat was sold at an average price of RMB1,653/tonne, up RMB39 from the last auction.

  

US$1 = RMB6.8263 as of October 14, 2008