China said on Saturday it had set the 2020 minimum purchasing price for wheat at 2,240 yuan ($316.08) per tonne, the same level as 2019, but said it will cap the volume it buys from farmers under the guarantee programme. China buys wheat from farmers at the minimum price when the market price drops below that level. However it has been reforming its farmer support system in recent years after it amassed huge stocks of grain, often of poor quality.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on its website it will keep its minimum price at the same level as last year, following two years in a row of price cuts. A separate announcement issued by the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration said the government will from 2020 onwards limit the amount of wheat it buys at the minimum price, however. For 2020, the volume is capped at 37 million tonnes. China produced 131 million tonnes of wheat in 2018.

The document, also signed by the NDRC, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said the move was aimed at making further improvements to the grain minimum price purchasing. The United States has complained of excessive Chinese support for wheat and rice production. In February, the World Trade Organization ruled in an adjudication in favour of the United States.