2014 Northeast China corn temporary purchase and storage price announced

The National Development and Reform Commission, the State Administration of Grain, the Ministry of Finance, and the Agricultural Development Bank of China jointly issued the "Notice on Issues Concerning the National Temporary Storage and Purchase of Corn in Northeast China in 2014." The notice states that in 2014 the state will continue to implement the temporary corn purchase and storage policy in the three northeastern provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The purchase period for the 2014 national temporary storage corn is from November 25, 2014 to April 30, 2015. The listed purchase price for national temporary storage corn (national standard third-class quality standard) is: Inner Mongolia and Liaoning 1.13 yuan/jin, Jilin 1.12 yuan/jin, Heilongjiang 1.11 yuan/jin. The price difference between adjacent grades shall be set at 0.02 yuan per jin. The listed purchase price refers to the delivered-to-warehouse purchase price at which storage points purchase directly from farmers.

2014 Northeast China corn temporary purchase and storage price announced

China Grain Reserves Corporation, COFCO Corporation, China National Textile Corporation, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang Province (Autonomous Region) Development and Reform Commissions, Grain Bureaus, Finance Departments, and the Agricultural Development Bank of China Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang Province (Autonomous Region) Branches:

In accordance with the spirit of the relevant instructions of the State Council, in 2014 the state will continue to implement the temporary corn purchase and storage policy in the three northeastern provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The relevant matters are hereby notified as follows:

I. Purchase time and quality and price standards

(1) Purchase time. The purchase period for the 2014 national temporary storage corn is from the date of issuance of this notice to April 30, 2015.

(2) Purchase price. The listed purchase price for national temporary storage corn (national standard third-class quality standard) is: Inner Mongolia and Liaoning 1.13 yuan/jin, Jilin 1.12 yuan/jin, Heilongjiang 1.11 yuan/jin. The price difference between adjacent grades shall be set at 0.02 yuan per jin. The listed purchase price refers to the delivered-to-warehouse purchase price at which storage points purchase directly from farmers.

(3) Quality standards. The corn purchased and stored must be domestically produced corn from the 2014 crop and meet the national standard quality requirements for in-grade products. The specific quality standards shall be implemented in accordance with the national standard for corn (GB1353-2009). For non-standard corn whose actual moisture and impurity content exceed the standard-specified indicators, it must be dried and cleaned up to standard before it can be stored in the warehouse; corn that does not meet the standards shall not be stored. The purchase of non-standard corn shall be implemented in accordance with the "Provisions on Issues Concerning the Implementation of National Standards for Grain and Oil Quality" (Guo Liang Fa [2010] No. 178). For corn whose actual moisture content exceeds the standard-specified indicator, based on the indicator specified in the standard, for every 0.5 percentage point higher, 0.65% of the quantity shall be deducted, and 0.15% of the price shall be deducted as drying fees; where the amount is lower or the excess is less than 0.5 percentage points, no quantity deduction or price deduction shall be applied.

II. Policy implementation entities and purchase and storage points

(1) Policy implementation entities. (1) China Grain Reserves Corporation, entrusted by the state, serves as the policy implementation entity to undertake this national temporary purchase and storage task, purchasing farmers' surplus grain without limit through its directly affiliated warehouses and entrusted purchase and storage points, so as to prevent farmers from experiencing "difficulty in selling grain." (2) COFCO Corporation and China National Textile Corporation, as supplementary forces to China Grain Reserves Corporation, shall be entrusted by China Grain Reserves Corporation to undertake purchase and storage tasks and shall independently obtain loans from the Agricultural Development Bank of China. China Grain Reserves Corporation shall sign entrusted purchase and storage agreements with these two enterprises, clarifying the responsibilities, rights, and obligations of both parties. The purchase and storage scale of COFCO Corporation and China National Textile Corporation shall initially be set at 5 million tons and 1 million tons respectively, and the entrusted purchase and storage agreements shall be reviewed and filed with the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Grain, and the head office of the Agricultural Development Bank of China.

(2) Qualification conditions for purchase and storage points. Purchase and storage points shall meet the following conditions: (1) Possess grain purchasing qualifications and be registered with the industrial and commercial authorities. (2) Have an account with the Agricultural Development Bank of China. (3) Have a certain scale of self-owned warehouse capacity and drying equipment, with storage facility conditions meeting the requirements of the "Measures for the Administration of Grain and Oil Storage" (Order No. 5 of 2009 of the National Development and Reform Commission), and possess the necessary cleaning equipment, inspection and testing equipment, weighing and measuring instruments, and personnel; for farmers selling small quantities of grain, a movable scale shall be available. (4) Implement the relevant provisions on the filing of grain and oil storage units, fully implement enterprise safety production responsibilities, and have complete and perfect relevant equipment. (5) Have no violations of regulations or discipline in purchase, storage, and sales outbound operations within three years. (6) Strictly implement the "National Grain Circulation Statistical System." (7) Have completed the fire prevention renovation task for open-air temporary corn storage stacks and cribs before 2013, with no major fire hazards. Each purchase and storage point shall retain the purchase settlement sheets, quality inspection sheets, and weighing measurement sheets (including relevant electronic data) issued during the purchase process for inspection.

(3) Determination of purchase and storage points. (1) Determination procedure. Directly affiliated enterprises of China Grain Reserves Corporation and directly affiliated enterprises of COFCO Corporation and China National Textile Corporation that meet the qualification conditions may serve as purchase and storage points. Other purchase and storage points shall be jointly determined by the relevant branch of China Grain Reserves Corporation, the provincial-level grain administrative department, and the provincial-level branch of the Agricultural Development Bank of China. The list of purchase and storage points of COFCO Corporation and China National Textile Corporation shall be reported by the group headquarters to China Grain Reserves Corporation; the list of other purchase and storage points shall be reported by the relevant branch of China Grain Reserves Corporation to China Grain Reserves Corporation. After summarization by China Grain Reserves Corporation, it shall be reported to the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Grain, and the Agricultural Development Bank of China. The list of purchase and storage points (according to the enterprise's industrial and commercial registration name), addresses, and contact telephone numbers shall be publicly announced to society through the media by China Grain Reserves Corporation before the start of purchasing. (2) Determination principles. Purchase and storage points shall be determined according to the principles of "conducive to protecting farmers' interests, conducive to safe grain storage, conducive to supervision, and conducive to sales." Existing storage resources shall be fully utilized; with the county as a unit, the total warehouse capacity of purchase and storage points within each county shall be aligned with the expected local temporary storage corn purchase volume. Priority shall be given to enterprises that have been assigned grain storage facility construction plans (including open-air cribs, open-air stacks, and grain storage canopies) by relevant state departments as purchase and storage points. Priority consideration shall also be given to local temporary storage grain purchase points that passed qualification review in 2013, carried out temporary storage grain purchase business, had no violations, and invested in expanding warehouse capacity this year. For areas where grain sales are relatively concentrated, transportation conditions are relatively poor, and farmers have reported many problems, additional purchase and storage points shall be established and the distribution range expanded; at the same time, county-level consolidation and coordinated use of warehouse capacity shall be combined to meet farmers' grain-selling needs.

(4) Determination of leased purchase and storage points. Potential shall be fully tapped, and idle social warehouse capacity and drying capacity shall be effectively utilized. On the premise of ensuring grain storage safety, for areas (with the county as a unit) where warehouse capacity still cannot meet purchase and storage needs after all local qualifying purchase and storage points have been activated, the relevant branch of China Grain Reserves Corporation shall promptly arrange county-level consolidation, or resolve the issue by leasing warehouses for grain storage through purchase and storage points that meet the conditions set by relevant state departments for leasing social warehouse capacity to store policy grain. The list of leased warehouse points shall be announced before they begin purchasing. The specific measures for leasing social warehouse capacity to store policy grain shall be separately formulated and issued by relevant state departments.

(5) Construction of open-air grain storage facilities. (1) Open-air grain storage facilities include three forms: open-air cribs, open-air stacks, and grain storage canopies. Where open-air grain storage is truly necessary, priority shall be given to using grain storage canopies. Where, after fully utilizing the existing storage facilities of central and local grain enterprises, warehouse capacity remains insufficient even after measures such as county-level consolidation and warehouse leasing for grain storage, and open-air grain storage facilities are truly necessary, the branch of China Grain Reserves Corporation shall, together with the provincial-level grain department and the provincial-level branch of the Agricultural Development Bank of China, submit an application for an open-air grain storage plan by warehouse point, which shall be implemented after review by China Grain Reserves Corporation and approval by relevant state departments. The open-air facilities constructed must comply with relevant national and local documents, standards, and fire prevention regulations. (2) China Grain Reserves Corporation shall strictly control the number of facilities constructed and, based on the purchase situation, issue open-air grain storage plans in batches. Relevant circumstances shall be promptly reported to relevant state departments for filing and copied to the relevant provincial-level grain departments.