Rice and corn prices have fallen, and how the market has changed after autumn grain purchases enter the peak season

China Business Daily (reporter Ma Jiawen / photo) Autumn grain purchases have entered the peak season, the prices of rice and corn have fallen, and the price of rice in some areas has fallen below the minimum purchase price level. In order to ensure the income of grain farmers, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei and Hunan have started to purchase in the city. With the autumn grains on the market one after another, what new changes will there be in the grain market this year?

Autumn grain purchases have entered the peak season, the purchase price of corn has dropped by 13% year-on-year, and some parts of the country have started to purchase rice prices below the minimum purchase price.

Rice and corn prices fell

Autumn grain purchases have entered the peak season, and the number of purchases has increased compared with last year. According to the data of the State Grain and Material Reserve Bureau, as of now, all kinds of grain enterprises in the main production areas have accumulated about 30 billion kilograms of mid- and late-stage indica rice, and the acquisition progress is generally smooth.

Autumn grains mainly include corn, medium and late rice and soybeans, and autumn grain production accounts for 40% of the total grain production of the year. Both the price of corn and rice have fallen this year. Qin Yuyun, director of the Grain Reserve Department of the State Grain and Material Reserve Bureau, said at a press briefing held on November 3 that due to the weather and other factors, the corn market period this year has been delayed by 10-15 days compared with previous years, and the current listing volume is not large, and the average purchase price is 1.24 yuan / kg, which is 13% lower than the high point of the year in early March.

The follow-up corn will soon be listed in large quantities, and the market supply will continue to increase. Qin Yuyun said that the overall situation of corn production this year is better, and the sown area has increased more. Although the rainy weather in North China has a certain impact, the overall climate of the main production areas such as the northeast is suitable, the light and temperature conditions are more favorable, the total output is expected to increase more, and the supply and demand situation continues to improve.

It is worth noting that Anhui, Jiangxi and parts of Henan, Hubei and Hunan have started to purchase rice because the price of rice is lower than the minimum purchase price. The purchase of the trust market refers to the state comprehensively considering the grain supply and demand situation, the cost of growing grain and other factors, and reasonably determining the minimum purchase price level. After the new grain is listed, during the prescribed implementation period, if the market price is lower than the minimum purchase price level, the enterprises designated by the state will purchase grain according to the minimum purchase price to ensure the income of grain farmers. Since 2018, the role of the minimum purchase price of grain has shifted from the market to the bottom, that is, the grain is mainly priced by the market.

"By the beginning of the listing in mid-to-late September this year, the average purchase price of mid-to-late indica rice remained at 1.35 yuan / catty, higher than the minimum purchase price of 1.28 yuan / catty." With the concentrated listing of mid-to-late indica rice, the purchase price has declined, and in some areas it has fallen below the minimum purchase price level. Since October 23, Anhui Province, Jiangxi Province since October 28, and Henan Hubei Hunan Provinces have launched the implementation plan for the minimum purchase price of medium and late rice in eligible areas since November 3. It is understood that these five provinces have arranged the first batch of 931 storage points, with a warehouse capacity of 8.34 million tons. At present, the opening price of japonica rice in Heilongjiang Province is about 1.3 yuan / catty, which is equivalent to the minimum purchase price level, and it is expected that Heilongjiang will also start the acquisition of Japonica Rice Trust City in the later period. Qin Yuyun said.

The grain market is abundant in quantity, quality, and low price

The follow-up grain market will still be dominated by market-oriented purchases. Qian Yi, director of the Planning and Construction Department of the State Grain and Material Reserve Bureau, introduced: "In recent years, grain procurement has gradually shifted from policy-based acquisition to market-oriented acquisition, and the proportion of market-oriented acquisition has exceeded 90%. All localities insist on the government and the market to work together, reflect the quality orientation in policy-oriented acquisitions and market-oriented acquisitions, encourage multiple entities to enter the market for purchase, support grain reserves, processing, and trade enterprises to develop order purchases, maintain the order of grain procurement, and effectively protect the interests of grain farmers.

This year's grain market is booming. Since September, in the Grain and Oil Wholesale Market in Beijing, one of the three major spot grain and oil wholesale distribution centers in North China, there are autumn grains from all over the world shipped into the market every day, and autumn grains from Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu and other places have been listed, and market distributors, grain and oil processing enterprises and other relevant entities have said that this year's supply of high quality and low price is very sufficient.

Niu Lei, a rice dealer, told China Business Daily that its current storage of rice reaches 3,000 tons, of which more than 1,000 tons of new autumn grains, and 50 tons of new rice have been imported just before the reporter interviewed. This year's new rice has a unique aroma of rice and a very bright color.

The price of rice has also fallen by about 2 percent compared to the same period this year. A person in charge of Yihai Kerry's Shandong grain and oil processing plant admitted that the arrival of raw materials in September this year was large, and the inventory of the processing plant was also high. This year's grain market price fluctuations are smaller than last year, taking rice as an example, this year's rice market prices have not fluctuated abnormally, and they are more stable than last year's prices.

This year, food supply and market operation are more secure

At present, the food market is well supplied. Qin Yuyun said that the domestic grain supply and market operation are fully guaranteed. China's total grain stocks are sufficient and at a historically high level, especially the two major ration varieties of wheat and rice account for more than 70% of the total stocks. Taking wheat as an example, under the situation of successive bumper harvests, inventories have continued to increase, and they can currently meet the consumption demand for one and a half years. At present, the commodity inventory of enterprises has increased a lot, and the inventory of wheat and rice commodities has increased by more than 50% year-on-year, which has effectively enhanced the ability of enterprises to prevent risks. In addition, since the beginning of this year, the national grain trading platform has accumulated 34 million tons of policy-oriented grain sales, effectively ensuring market supply.

"China's grain and oil processing capacity is very strong, can process 1.5 million tons of rice and 800,000 tons of wheat per day, that is to say, if each person eats one kilogram of grain per day, the rice and noodles processed in one day are enough for the people of the whole country to eat for two days." In addition, China's emergency support capacity has also been significantly enhanced, with more than 5,500 grain emergency processing enterprises, and 36 large and medium-sized cities and areas with volatile markets that have a refined grain and oil inventory guarantee capacity of more than 20 days. Since the beginning of this year, the domestic grain market has generally maintained a stable operation trend. Qin Yuyun said.

It is worth noting that this year's supervision of the grain market is more stringent, and the market entities are more secure in buying and selling grain. Zhong Haitao, director of the Law Enforcement Supervision Bureau of the State Grain and Material Reserve Bureau, said that since the special law enforcement action of the national grain circulation "Bright Sword" 2021, cases of violations of laws and regulations such as not paying grain sales in time, violating policy-based grain operation and management regulations, failing to establish a grain business account, and failing to file in accordance with regulations have been seriously investigated and dealt with, and 145 cases of administrative penalties have been issued above warnings, fines of 1.8358 million yuan, and confiscation of illegal gains of 280,000 yuan.

"Grain and reserve departments in various localities have widely publicized the national grain procurement policy through various channels, reminded grain sellers of the risks of hitting the 'white stripe', guided farmers to sell grain in accordance with the principle of 'one hand of money and one hand of grain', and popularized the knowledge of safeguarding legitimate rights and interests through legal channels." Remind the majority of grain farmers, when selling grain, they should pay attention to the policy information such as the purchase price, quality standards, water miscellaneous deduction methods, settlement methods and implementation time published on the spot, and when the legitimate rights and interests are damaged, they should pay attention to retaining evidence, and can call the 12325 supervision hotline in time to report. Zhong Haitao said.