January 19, 2009

China's major wheat producing areas are undergoing a serious drought, which analysts said Friday (January 16) may affect wheat output by at most 5 percent this year.

More than 5.43 million hectares of wheat in six major wheat producing provinces - Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, Shanxi and Gansu - have been hit by the drought, almost four times the acreage affected during the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture.

It's now too early to say the exact impact of the drought on wheat production, but wheat output this year may be reduced by less than 5 percent, said an analyst with a foreign trading house.

Analysts said the effects of the drought may be seen in the wheat's growth in the coming spring.

There won't be significant rainfall in the coming week in major wheat producing areas, and dry conditions will further deteriorate, according to a report published on the China Meteorological Administration's Web site.

China's wheat output last year was estimated at 112.5 million tonnes, up 2.9 percent on year, the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre, said in a recent report.