Chinas Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, one of the countrys three commodities trading bourses, plans to launch rice futures on April 20, an exchange spokesman told Reuters on Monday. "The preliminary date is set on April 20," said Qiao Jinhui. The rice to be traded at the exchange will be early rice or Hsien rice.
China, the worlds largest rice producer and consumer, grows two to three seasons of rice harvests. Output of early rice, grown in the southern parts of the country, accounts for 17 to 18 percent of the countrys total paddy output, said the exchange in a report posted on its website (www.czce.com.cn).
Chinas total paddy output stood at about 190 million tonnes in 2008 - in line with its consumption- of which 31.6 million tonnes were early rice. Early rice is planted in March and April and harvested in July. Rice is the staple food for Chinese, but more Chinese are shifting to take more tasty late-season rice or japonica rice. Nearly 70 percent of early rice was used as food while 24 percent was turned into animal feed in 2007, said the exchange. The Zhengzhou exchange, based in the central province of Henan, also trades white sugar, wheat, cotton as well as rapeseed oil.