Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : China Warehouse- More Than Crockery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (1517)	11/18/2003 7:21:19 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6370

China may not meet its own grain needs SHANGHAI - For the first time in six years, Chinese grain prices are soaring as harvests fall short of demand and the broader question emerges again: Can China feed itself without looking abroad? Since late summer, wheat prices in the north-east have shot up 32 per cent, maize prices have doubled and rice prices are up by as much as 13 per cent, official reports said. Advertisement Prices of edible oil, cotton, vegetables, meat and other food products have also edged up. Grain harvests this year were hit by a double whammy: bad weather and cutbacks in acreage sown. This makes it likely that China will have to import more wheat and soya beans, according to Mr Rich Herzfelder, executive vice-president of the China Food and Agricultural Services, a Shanghai-based consultancy. 'They've got a problem with their stocks and the crunch is hitting now, partly because of the weather,' he said. For farmers worldwide, that looks like a dream come true - a market of 1.3 billion potential customers hungry for more grain and other agricultural products. Given its history of famine, China has made self-sufficiency in staple grains a strategic priority, viewing a stable food supply as crucial to national security and stability. But the government has been loosening controls on pricing and distribution of grain, allowing prices to fall. straitstimes.asia1.com.sg