Grain Administration cuts corn's price floor for first time since 2008

China’s Grain Administration has lowered the price floor for corn grown in northeastern provinces for the first time 2008, to RMB2,000 per metric ton–an 11% cut from the previous year, Dim Sums reported, citing an announcement from the administration. The cut was forced by mounting stockpiles as production rose while consumption faltered and high domestic prices spurred greater imports of subsidies such as sorghum and barley. The government had bought and stored ever-larger volumes of corn over the past three years, which sat unsold and moldering in the amount of 200 million metric tons, or nearly a year’s supply, according to a recent speech by a National Development and Reform Commission official.