China struggles to block grains smuggling

The number of cases of grains smuggling out of China is rising, as international prices of rice and wheat climb while domestic Chinese prices rise more slowly, China's Xinhua news agency reported, quoting customs officials.
The port of Hangzhou in eastern China blocked four illegal attempts to export a total of 7 tonnes of rice and 33 tonnes of wheat in a two-week period, while another eastern port, Ningbo, recently stopped four efforts to export 130 tonnes of wheat, Xinhua said over the weekend. With consumer price inflation near 11-year highs, China is trying to discourage grain exports through quotas and taxes while keeping a lid on domestic grain prices by releasing supplies from the state's reserves.
China exported 600,483 tonnes of rice in the first quarter of this year, up 39 percent from a year, and 123,879 tonnes of wheat, down 52 percent, according to its customs data.