January 02, 2008	Wednesday	Zilhaj 22, 1428

BEIJING, Jan 1: China has imposed export quotas on flour made from wheat, corn and rice to help stabilise rising prices, the Commerce Ministry said on Tuesday, in the latest measure aimed at discouraging sales abroad.

The export quotas, of which it gave no details, would be temporary, and the duration would depend on the domestic market situation, the ministry said in a statement.

They came into effect on Jan 1, it added.

“Recently, global grain prices have continued to grow, and exports of Chinese flour have risen fast,” it quoted an unnamed official as saying.

“To appropriately adjust the export scale, avoid affecting domestic supply, stabilise present domestic grain prices, and guarantee domestic grain security, our country decided to make these revisions to the flour export policy,” the official said.On Sunday, the finance ministry said it would impose tariffs of between five and 25 per cent on some grain exports in 2008.

The move comes amid the fastest consumer inflation in more than a decade, driven mostly by soaring prices for food.

It follows Beijing’s scrapping from Dec 20 the 13 per cent tax rebate on exports of grains, including corn, wheat, rice and soybeans.

Beijing has already stopped exports of corn and wheat since the second half of last year on worries that domestic output may not be enough for its own consumption, particularly after world grain prices surged on ethanol demand and poor crops.

China’s tax revenue last year rose 31.4 per cent compared with the previous year to 4.94 trillion yuan ($676.4 billion), the State Administration of Taxation said on Tuesday.

That figure does not include revenue from customs duties, tax on contracts or arable land use taxes, it said.

It gave no further details.

—Agencies