What’s New: China added 42.9 million tons of wheat to its national reserves this year through Aug. 5, representing a drop of 9.4 million tons, or 18% less, than for the same period last year.
Central China’s Henan province saw the biggest decrease, collecting just 9.1 million tons of wheat through Aug. 5, or 5.4 million tons less than a year earlier, according to data from China’s National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration. Eastern China’s Anhui province recorded the second biggest drop.
What’s happening: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences researcher Li Guoxiang said that many farmers may have been overly optimistic about prices they could get for their wheat and are also willing to store it themselves to wait for better prices, hence the lower purchases by the national reserves.
Agricultural analyst Xu Xueping added that changes in weather patterns, along with more diseases and pests, may have led to production declines in some wheat-growing areas.
Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)
