May 29, 2010

 

China sees expansion in grain acreage

Chinese farmers are likely to grow 109.47 million hectares of grains this year, a rise of 0.4% from 2009, according to an official from the Ministry of Agriculture.

 

Despite a cold spring delaying the planting of crops such as corn and rice, the acreage planted in spring was expected to rise 0.9% from last year, said Ma Shuping, deputy director with planting department of the Agriculture Ministry.

 

Ma did not give a breakdown, but said oilseeds and cotton areas were likely to stay steady at last year's levels, while farmers grew more sugar this year.

 

China, the world's largest grain producer and consumer, harvested a record 530.82 million tonnes of grains last year, a rise of 0.4% from 2008, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.