by Agrimoney.com
Chinese reluctance over data transparency are threatening an international deal aimed at stabilising farm commodity markets, French farm minister Bruno Le Maire said, as he renewed an attack on speculators.
The G20 group of leading economic powers, currently under French chairmanship, is "not far from a consensus" on a deal on measures to encourage measures such as improving productivity, curbing speculation and improving information sharing to underpin long-term farm commodity supplies.
However, with less than three weeks to go before a critical meeting to agree on the so-called "action plan", China remained a stumbling block over its reluctance to open up on the data it would be obliged to release, and on any potential loosening of powers over market prices.
"China needs some reassurance on the data," Mr Le Maire told grain industry leaders.
"We want to give China some agreements around transparency."
Many analysts have long been sceptical of Chinese data, believing they are massaged in an attempt to throw international markets offguard, besides being exaggerated, in production terms, by a system which rewards provinces by harvest size.
Doubts came to a head in 2009 when a Chinese corn crop pegged by officials at more than 160m tonnes was viewed by some in-country analysts as coming in below 140m tonnes.
'No speculators'
Mr Le Maire also sought to reassure the UK, viewed as one of Europe's biggest champions of free markets, over measures to curb speculation, saying that markets were vital to agriculture.
"The idea is not to go against markets, it is to help commodity markets to operate better," he said.
This meant, in particular, curbing the "excessive volatility" which was hampering investment in the sector and which he blamed on speculators.
"We need investors. We do not need speculators," Mr Le Maire told the International Grain Council's annual conference.
"We do not need people who come and make excessive profits in a few days on agricultural world markets."
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