Temporary storage corn mold rate standard expected to be relaxed soon
Affected by weather factors, mold has commonly occurred in corn in Northeast China, causing many corn loads to be turned away when sold and delivered to warehouses, and farmers in some areas have difficulty selling grain. According to reporters, this year farmers' corn mold rate is far higher than the procurement and warehousing standard of Sinograin, which has led to turned-away trucks and difficulty selling grain. Relevant state departments may issue documents in the coming days to relax the warehousing standard for moldy corn.
On November 25, four departments including the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration issued a timely notice requiring that, starting that day, the four provinces and regions of Northeast China launch state temporary storage corn procurement. As of now, temporary storage corn procurement in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces has still not started on a large scale, and some Sinograin directly affiliated depots that have started procurement are only purchasing corn with mold below 2%.
A grain broker in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, told reporters that after temporary storage corn procurement began, local purchasing depots that opened did not purchase corn with a mold rate exceeding 2%, which led to many turned-away trucks.
Because temperatures were relatively high and rainfall was relatively abundant during the grain growing period in Northeast China this year, combined with the influence of the leap month and the current warm winter factors, corn has suffered large-scale “standing stalk” and piled mold.
Lü Rongwei, general manager of Harbin Grain and Oil Trading Company, told reporters: “After October, temperatures in the Heilongjiang area were relatively high, and combined with the impact of later rain and snow, some corn that had not been harvested suffered ‘standing stalk mold’, while harvested corn also became moldy because it was stacked for too long. From what we know, corn with a mold rate not exceeding 2% in the Harbin area accounts for about 20%, and the general mold rate is 4%-8%, slightly more serious than the same period last year.” Reporters learned from the grain bureaus of Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces that the situation of corn mold exceeding the standard in the above two provinces is relatively serious. In Heilongjiang Province alone, corn with a mold rate exceeding 2% accounts for more than half of the province's total corn output, and the situation in Jilin Province is likewise not optimistic.
In the 2013 grain year, large-scale mold also occurred in Heilongjiang corn. After coordination between relevant departments at the central and local levels, the province's temporary storage corn procurement implemented “State Grain Development (2010) Document No. 178”, relaxing the mold standard to 5%, which solved the grain-selling difficulty for farmers with moldy corn.
Sinograin Corporation announced on December 7 that, before the state issues a new policy, the moldy kernel indicator for temporary storage corn procurement shall be implemented according to the standard of no higher than 2% determined by a meeting of relevant state departments. The Heilongjiang branch arranged on December 3 for all directly affiliated depots to launch temporary storage corn procurement in accordance with current state policy provisions.
Disagreements over the procurement and storage standard have directly led to the inability of Heilongjiang and Jilin to launch temporary storage corn procurement on a large scale as scheduled, causing most farmers' newly harvested corn to fail to be purchased and delivered to warehouses in time, and there is a risk that the corn mold rate will continue to rise.
It is reported that on December 8, the relevant six ministries and commissions led by the National Development and Reform Commission completed research on the corn mold rate situation in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, and a document relaxing the procurement standard may be issued in the coming days. Relaxing the warehousing standard for moldy corn will promptly ease the difficulty Northeast corn farmers have in selling grain. After large-scale procurement is launched, the procurement speed will accelerate, and to a certain extent it can also reduce the quantity and proportion of moldy corn grain, effectively ensuring grain quality.