Beijing | Reuters — Around 400 Chinese citizens have signed a letter to protest the purchase of Swiss-based seeds and pesticides company Syngenta by state-owned ChemChina, saying the deal would eventually lead to genetically modified crops being sown across swathes of the country. Critics of genetically modified organisms argue the technology poses risks to public […] Read more
Chinese citizens protest ChemChina-Syngenta deal
China to end state corn stockpiling, free up prices
Beijing | Reuters — China plans to scrap its corn stockpiling scheme and allow markets to set prices for the grain, pushing to boost efficiency on its farms and to narrow a gap between local and international prices that has sparked a surge of cheaper imports. The government will instead subsidize corn growers and encourage […] Read more
China plans to cut domestic corn prices to shrink stockpiles
Beijing | Reuters — Beijing plans to cut local corn prices for a second year as it pushes to reignite stalled demand from its crisis-hit grain processors and whittle down the world’s biggest corn stockpile, industry sources said. In its latest move to boost a sector that has struggled with the world’s most expensive domestic […] Read more
Analysts expect China to issue grain import quotas after state sales end
Beijing | Reuters — China’s grain imports could plummet this year, with the government determined to sell off as much of its bulging state grain reserves as possible before it finally grants mills permission to buy overseas, analysts said. In previous years, private mills were normally allocated grain import quotas in January, allowing them to […] Read more
Rejections expected: China finds more unapproved GM corn from U.S.
China, one of the world’s largest corn importers, is likely to reject more U.S. shipments of the grain after they were found to contain a genetically modified variety not approved by Beijing, traders said. That has sparked fears that other cargoes could be turned away, with some traders and buyers warning that uncertainty over the […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
