China's wheat harvest recovers from drought

China's wheat harvest is set to increase for the sixth consecutive year despite an earlier drought and recent torrential rains, the Ministry of Agriculture said.

 

Around 90 percent of the estimated 122.5 million tonnes of wheat has been harvested, the ministry told national media outlets.

 

Harvesting has ended in the provinces of Yunan, Sichuan, Hubei, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui and the city of Chongqing while some crops remain to be harvested in Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia and the northern Shanxi and Hebei provinces.

 

In many regions, farmers had to deal with major drought conditions as early as last November. When rains did come in late May, the rapid downpour created havoc within some farming communities.

 

Chinese news agency Xinhua reported in late May and early June that severe thunderstorms and hail in the central and eastern parts of the country had delayed harvesting.

 

More than 2,000 hectares of wheat and corn were destroyed by hailstorm in parts of Hebei province while a further 3,200 hectares of crops were damaged, the ministry said.

 

The worst drought in 60 years had also affected Henan province, which produces about a quarter of China's grains. Officials reported at the start of the growing season that the water shortage had withered around 240,000 hectares of newly seeded wheat.

 

Analysts were worried that a poor wheat harvest would drive up global wheat prices and bring about serious social implications.

 

With the forced closure of some of China's manufacturing plants amid the global economic downturn, workers have been returning to their rural homes. With little work available due to the failing crops, authorities were concerned of local unrest. The central government acted swiftly in February with ministry officials touring some of the worst drought-stricken areas and subsidies to farmers were increased and sent early.

 

Meanwhile, water authorities opened dams, allowing reservoirs to irrigate fields, and fleets of water trucks were sent to villages whose wells were drying up. The authorities also tried to seed clouds with rocket shells that contained rain-inducing silver iodide particles.