Eight people stood trial in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, for having smuggled 8,600 tonnes of grain from April to July in 2008, according to sources with the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court on Thursday.

The eight people, from three companies in Guangzhou, were charged with working together to forge customs declaration forms and smuggle grain, according to an allegation by the Guangzhou city procuratorate. When asked by Xinhua, the city procuratorate declined to specify where the grain was being smuggled.

From April to July, 2008, the Guangzhou Suihai Customs Brokers Co. Ltd. falsified customs declaration forms for furniture, toilets and sinks.

In the same period, the Guangzhou Huasen Logistics Co. Ltd. and Guangzhou Yuancheng International Freight Co. Ltd. smuggled 8,600 tonnes of rice,flour and starch with the customs declaration forms forged by Suihai, 3,045 tonnes of which were discovered at the Guangzhou Nansha Port on July 25, 2008.

The trial ended on Thursday morning. The court didn't say when the second trial will open.

In the first half of 2008, the grain price on world's market increased because of the production reduction by traditional grain producers like Vietnam and Thailand.

The Chinese domestic grain market was stable due to the government's strict measures on price control. The average grain price at the international market four-to-five times that of the domestic market.

Price differences lured smugglers to grain -- which may bring 3,500 yuan (about 514.7 U.S. dollars) of profit for 1,000 kg of rice.

A report by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed that in the January-August period in 2008, customs at all levels cracked down on 314 grain-trafficking cases, with 18,900 tonnes of goods involved.

(Xinhua News Agency June 4, 2009)