China, the world's top producer of wheat, raised its state purchase price for the grain by 5.4 percent in major wheat growing areas to help boost farmers' incomes, the state planning body said on Thursday. The floor price for wheat was set at 2,360 yuan ($380) per tonne for 2014, up from last year's 2,240 yuan per tonne, said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The government will start stockpiling wheat from farmers if the market price for wheat falls below the state-set minimum. The floor price for early-season rice this year was also raised by 2.3 percent to 2,700 yuan per tonne, the NDRC said. China is expected to reap a bumper winter wheat harvest starting next month, with output estimated to rise 1.5 percent to 117.6 million tonnes. China's wheat imports in 2014/15 were seen to fall to 3 million tonnes from 7 million tonnes in the previous year, when intake rose to a decade-high level after weather damage. Unfavourable overseas pricing coupled with high domestic output are likely to reduce the need for imports in the coming year, said the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC).
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