China, the world’s biggest soybean importer, plans to sell as much as 3 million tonnes from inventories to help control food prices, three people familiar with the matter said.
The beans will be sold at a discount to selected crushers in exchange for an agreement to keep cooking-oil prices at government-set levels, said the people, who declined to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly.
The sale represents 4.4 percent of annual demand, according to US Department of Agriculture data.
Inflation in China, the largest grains consumer, likely quickened to 5.2 percent last month, exceeding the government’s 4 percent target for a third month, the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey showed. The statistics office will publish the data on Friday.
Food prices climbed 11 percent in February.
The government hasn’t settled the sale’s details, the people said.
China may import less of the oilseed than expected this year as declining profits for crushers and weak demand for livestock feed slow purchases, said Cofco Ltd (中糧集團有限公司), the country’s biggest grains trader.
Imports is expected to reach 54 million tonnes in the year through Sept. 30, down from the company’s previous estimate of 54.5 million tonnes, research general manager Liu Ni told a conference organized by China Cereals and Oils Business Net in Beijing.
Large crushers cut output in the first two months by as much as 40 percent from last year as profits dropped, Liu said.
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