State sale of rapeseed stockpiles planned: sources

China, the world's biggest cooking oil consumer, is planning to sell 1 million metric tons of rapeseed oil from state inventories to make room for this year's harvest, according to industry sources.

The government may sell the oil in a series of auctions beginning next month, with minimum bids set at about 10,000 yuan ($1,602) a ton, the sources added, asking not to be identified. Older inventories from 2009 may be priced lower, they said. State agencies have bought and processed rapeseed since 2008 to boost rural incomes, reducing supply and boosting imports.