China to add 10.85 mln T of grains storage capacity

China will add 10.85 million tonnes of storage capacity to its already massive grains stockpiling programme, official media reported.

Sinograin, the country’s state grains stockpiler, will start building 120 storage facility projects located in 18 provincial administrations this year, reported huanqiu.com, the website under the Global Times, controlled by the ruling Communist Party.

The move came after Beijing strengthened its focus on food security, and pledged to carry out near and long term plans to bolster grains supplies in the world’s top population.

China has over 650 million tonnes of grains storage capacity, state media reported in April.

The new projects will be part of Sinograin’s effort during the 14th five-year period, to “keep improving capability to serve and secure the nation’s grain security infrastructure facilities,” according to the report.

The total volume of China’s grain reserves is not made public and information about the state stockpile is usually hard to come by.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Hallie Gu and Shivani Singh, editing by Louise Heavens)