Farmers, Please Sell Your Grain

This year's corn has been harvested and it looks like a more or less "normal" harvest, certainly better than last year's that was devastated by drought in parts of the northeast. Farmers have corn but they're not selling it. Prices have been rising in recent weeks, but the market is at a standstill, waiting to see if prices keep rising.

Jilin Province--the major corn producer--announced a "three encouragement, one oversight" campaign for this year's corn marketing season.

Encourage farmers to sell grain, to sell good grain at a good price. Farmers have grain on hand but they are hesitant to sell. Grain departments are to publish forecasts and market information so farmers know the actual situation.

Encourage processors to buy grain according to state policies to solve their production raw materials problem. Financial organizations (banks) should make plenty of credit available to facilitate grain purchases.

Encourage grain enterprises to go into the market according to state policy to buy grain, preventing farmers from experiencing difficulty selling their grain. Grain administrative departments are to carry out a one-time spot-check of grain warehouses to verify how much grain they have. This year, to carry out support price programs, the province designated 160 minimum-price purchase points for rice and 117 provisional purchase points for soybeans.

Market oversight will be strengthened to maintain "orderly markets." There will be a crack-down on hoarding of grain, and everyone should guard against downgrading of grain (to pay a lower price).