June 7, 2004

China's Henan '2004 Wheat Output Seen At 23.90 Million MT, +4.3% 

Henan, China's top wheat producing province, is expected to harvest a record wheat crop this year, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.

Wheat production in Henan, central China, is forecast at 23.90 million metric tons this year, up 974,000 tons or 4.3% from production in 2003, Xinhua said, citing data from Henan's Provincial Agricultural Bureau.

If realized, it would be 174,000 tons or 0.7% higher than the previous record set in 1997, added the report.

Henan's area under wheat cultivation is pegged at 4.856 million hectares this year, up 51,330 hectares from last year.

The area in which higher quality wheat has been planted increased to 1.89 million hectares from 1.68 million hectares last year, said the report.

As of June 3, wheat farmers in Henan had harvested 3.64 million hectares of winter wheat, about 74.9% of the total area, according to a separate report from China's Ministry of Agriculture. Henan accounts for a quarter of the wheat produced in China.