How much is a seed? On Monday, a special auction in Changsha offered an answer: 11.8 million yuan (US$1.72 million), dearer than a Rolls-Royce Phantom.

The auction introduced more than 200 new breeds of early, mid-season, and late super hybrid rice, of which 23 breeds were auctioned.

The output of "Double Excellent 1128," a new breed of mid-season hybrid rice, is 775 kilograms every mu (667 square meters) in plant experimentally in Sanya of Hainan Province, and 1,134.9 kilograms in Longhui of Hunan Province on the theory.

Its base price at the auction was six million yuan. After eight rounds of bidding, Longping Seed Industry Co., Ltd won its exclusive use with a price of 11.8 million yuan.

This is the first time a new breed of hybrid rice was transferred through bidding in the world, according to Changsha Evening News.

(CRIENGLISH.com September 17, 2008)