China '09 winter wheat crop to fall 1.9 percent

China, the world's largest wheat producer and consumer, is expected to produce 105 million tonnes of winter wheat in the harvest next month, which will be an on-year decrease of 1.9 percent.

The estimate by the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC) issued on Thursday (Apr 9) is unchanged from its previous forecast. It attributed the decline to damages brought about by the drought earlier in the year.

The centre added that the crop damage by the drought was minimal, thus reducing the risk of China having to increase imports to supplement its abundant domestic supplies.

Farmers are due to plant corn and soy next month but lower prices coupled with the record grain harvest last year, may lead to smaller planted acreage.