China urges efforts to ensure good summer grain production

Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu has ordered local governments to make every effort to ensure a good summer grain harvest, which accounts for 25% of the country's annual food yield.

Hui made the remarks during his inspection tour of Henan province, a major wheat-producing province in central China. He said a good summer harvest is important to stabilise grain production and agricultural development for the whole year. It will also facilitate healthy economic and social development, he added.

The vice premier said China has entered the final and critical stage of summer grain production. Local governments and departments must further implement the central government's policies to strengthen agriculture and benefit farmers, he said.

He ordered local governments to strengthen field management, intensify pest, disease and disaster prevention, to ensure preparation for the harvest in about two weeks.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, China's summer grain output accounts for about a quarter of its annual food yield.

The minimum amount of grain required to feed China's 1.3 billion people is an annual grain output of 500 million tonnes. China's summer grain output rose six years in a row to top 123.35 million tonnes last year, 2.6 million tonnes more than the previous year. Grain output reached 530.8 million tonnes in 2009, the sixth consecutive year of growth in grain yield.

The grain situation this summer is challenging as persistent cold weather since the winter has ravaged major production zones in the north. A severe drought since last September has also affected planting of crops in the south.