China will start its auctions of state-owned reserves of corn this week, aiming to continue their process of paring down the mountainous supplies of the grain. The National Grain Trade Center (NGTC) said in a notice it would start the offerings April 12 and 13, with seven million metric tons of corn, primarily from the 2014 crop year. A floor price of 1,350 yuan per metric ton ($214.40) has been set, which is just above the level from last year's sales.
Reports indicate China still has around 179 million metric tons of corn despite selling around 50 million metric tons via its auctions last year. The sales this year are starting a month earlier than they did last year, according to reports. On wheat, the NGTC also announced it would lower the floor prices for 2014 to 2016-crop wheat offered for sale to 2,350 yuan ($372.22) per metric ton vs 2,410 per ton currently.