China harvests nearly half of wheat despite storms

Chinese farmers harvested almost half of this year's winter wheat crop as of Saturday (June 6), despite major producing areas experiencing thunderstorms and strong winds recently.

About 48 percent of the wheat, or 11.03 million hectares, was harvested, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement published on its Web site over the weekend.

Some major wheat producing areas have been hit by strong winds and other bad weather in the past few days, affecting the harvest and killing 27 people.

The ministry said there will be rains in major wheat producing areas in the coming days, adding it has asked local agricultural departments to help farmers speed up harvesting, without elaborating.