April 16, 2008

China's Guangdong denies grain shortage reports

South China's Guangdong province denied on Monday speculations of grain shortages and assured that supplies were stable.

Guangdong has sufficient reserves to feed its people for five months, the provincial grain administration and agricultural department said.

Previously, China Economic Weekly published a report stating that Guangdong was facing the biggest grain deficiency in the country, as much as 24 million tonnes a year.

The provincial administration said grain storage in Guangzhou was sufficient to meet the city's demand for 10 days, while Shenzhen's storage was enough for 25 days.

Guangdong has maintained its maximum grain productivity, around 14 million tonnes a year, for many years. This amount accounts for 40 percent of the province's demand, the administration said.

Around 24 million tonnes of grain are imported from other provinces like Hunan, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jilin provinces and autonomous region.

Last year, Guangdong produced 12.85 million tonnes of grain and bought 25 million tonnes.

Li Min, vice-director of the grain administration, said the increase in price is encouraging more farmers to plant rice in the province.