国内英语新闻:China's corn supply adequate, price up on speculation: official

BEIJING, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's domestic corn supply was adequate, and a recent price increase was the result of market speculation, a senior official told Xinhua Thursday.

Shang Qiangmin, director at the China National Grain and Oils Information Center, said both the supply and corn reserves were adequate in China and the government was determined to regulate the corn market.

"Imbalance between corn supply and demand is a misjudgement," Shang said.

Although floods that ravaged the country's northeastern regions in late July have caused adverse impacts on regional corn growing, final output was expected to increase from one year earlier due to the expanding of planting areas, Shang said.

"China has enough corn reserves to meet market demand," he said.

The buying boom in the northeastern region is currently caused by enterprises' increasing corn stocks on speculation of price increase, he said.

According to Shang, corn stocks at major grain enterprises in northeastern Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, increased by 5.12 million tonnes at the end of July compared with one year earlier.

The Chinese government has strengthened macro control of corn market by increasing supply and cracking down on illegal activities that force up corn prices.

As the world's major corn producer and consumer, China's annual corn production and consumption both exceed 150 million tonnes.