China is ready to sell an additional 1 million tonnes of raw sugar in several auctions over the year in an effort to cap rising domestic prices, government officials said on Friday.
The sales proposal, approved by the State Council, or the cabinet, would be announced soon, a commerce ministry official said.
The official said auctions would cover the whole year but declined to give details. Industry officials said Beijing was expected to sell the first batch of raw sugar in April to refiners. The 1.0 million tonnes of raw sugar included the 600,000 tonnes from state stocks and 400,000 tonnes of new sugar from Cuba, industry officials said.
The government still holds some 9.0 million tonnes of sugar reserves after releasing about 200,000 tonnes in January. The January sale failed to cap domestic prices. Domestic sugar prices touched a record high last month, rising more than 50 percent from the year-earlier period, after the international raw sugar price hit 25-year highs.
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