July 30, 2007

China's soy production threatened by drought

A drought that has already damaged 2.15 million hectares of crops in major grain areas is now threathening China's soy production in the province of Heilongjiang, the official Xinhua news agency reported Friday ( July 27).

The fact that the drought-hit areas have poor irrigation systems worsens the problem.

Heilongjiang produces one-third of the country's soy output and is also a major producer of corn.

Although two other northeastern provinces, Jilin and Liaoning were affected by droughts last month, rains at the last minute saved most of the crops. 

China's soy production, already forecast to fall 3 percent to 15 million tonnes this year, is expected to go even lower with the onset of the drought in Heilongjiang, which is not expected to get any rain in the second half of July.

China's paddy crop is expected to be damaged as well due to droughts in parts of the central and southern provinces.

China's agriculture minister has warned that the country could face more bad weather this year that may hurt grain production.

While parts of China is undergoing drought conditions, other parts are suffering from floods. The floods, mostly in southern and eastern China has killed more than 600 people and caused US$6.9 billion in direct economic losses so far. The Huaihe River, which runs through central and Southern provinces has been at dangerous levels for three weeks and flood fighting efforts have been ongoing in Jiangsu, Anhui and Henan.