China buys 450,000T wheat

Beijing
Chinese buyers purchased around 450,000 tons of high protein wheat over the last few days, with more imports expected due to a domestic shortage of high quality grades, traders and industry sources said.
China bought around 300,000 tons of high protein milling wheat from Canada and about 150,000 tons from Australia, with shipment from May 2015, according to traders in Europe.
That follows the purchase last week of 115,000 tons of US hard red spring wheat.
“There is a big shortage of high-quality wheat in the domestic market.
The price gap has expanded, encouraging mills and state-trading houses to import,” said an industry source with an official think-tank in China.
China, the world’s biggest wheat producer and consumer, has seen overall wheat output climb to record levels in recent years, but it faces a shortage of the high-protein wheat it needs to meet growing appetite for bread and other baked products as incomes rise.