China raises State procurement price for rice

BEIJING -- China will lift the minimum State procurement price for rice produced this year to encourage farmers to grow more grain and boost production, the country's top economic planner said Wednesday.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement that the minimum procurement price for early indica rice will be raised to 2,640 yuan ($420) per metric ton, up 10 percent from the price set for 2012.

Meanwhile, the minimum procurement prices for mid-and-late indica rice and japonica rice will be set at 2,700 yuan and 3,000 yuan per ton, up 8 percent and 7.14 percent, respectively.

The policy will be applied to China's 13 major grain-producing provinces and regions, including Liaoning, Hebei, Shandong, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Hunan, Sichuan, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Anhui and Heilongjiang.

China has set minimum procurement prices for grain, including wheat and rice, since 2004. Under the scheme, the government buys grain from farmers at the State-set price when the market price falls below it.

The country's grain output hit nearly 590 million tons in 2012, marking the ninth consecutive year of growth.