Rain ends drought in China's corn belt

Several rounds of rainfall over the past two weeks have eased the drought in China's corn belt in the north-east, though parts of Liaoning are still dry, said the China Meteorological Administration. The overall damage to crops, mainly corn, was minor, said the bureau's official, Wang Zhihua, at a press conference on Thursday. Beijing has been releasing its state corn stocks to boost supplies after it stockpiled a record volume of corn from a two-year stockpiling scheme.
This week, the government sold 1.36 million tonnes, 27.3 percent of the volume on offer at an average price of 2,377 yuan ($387) per tonne. Besides, Beijing also sold out all the 1,500 tonnes of US corn offered this week at an average price of 2,287 yuan per tonne, according to National Grain & Oils Trade Centre. The latest sales have added the government's total sales to 27 million tonnes so far in the year, including 3.7 million tonnes of US corn.