August 19, 2013

China's agricultural sector hard hit by drought

Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters in China said that by August 15, drought had affected 95.77 million Mu (6.38 million hectares) of farmland, of which, 85.11 million Mu (5.67 million hectares) were cropland.

The Office also said that 3.04 million livestock animals were deprived of easy access to drinking water.  The drought has also reduced the supply of aquatic products in some regions and forced up prices. According to the Ministry of Commerce, the cost of carp rose by 1% in the first week of August.

Severe drought has baked the southern regions of China for a month since July, resulting in a direct economic loss of about RMB40 billion (US$653.89 million). Average rainfall in the south was less than 5mm during the past week, reduced by 80% compared to previous years' records.

Hunan, Guizhou and Hubei are the worst-hit regions.