August 30, 2004

 

 

China Henan Summer Grain Output Rises To 25 Million MT

 

The volume of grains, mainly wheat, harvested this summer in central China's Henan province rose by 1.85 million metric tons to 25.21 million tons, state media reported Monday.

 

Summer grain output in Henan accounted for a quarter of total summer output in China, the highest proportion since 2000, according to the report.

 

Acreage of summer grain in the province rose by 42,000 hectares over last year to 4.94 million hectares and accounted for 19.6% of the country's summer grain acreage, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing figures from the local statistics bureau.

 

The report said summer wheat acreage grew by 51,333 hectares to 4.86 million hectares, accounting for 98.4% of total summer grain acreage in China's largest wheat province.

 

Acreage for quality wheat jumped 210,000 hectares to 1.89 million hectares, accounting for 40% of summer wheat acreage.

 

But the report did not disclose figures for summer wheat output or output for quality wheat.

 

Summer grain output comprises only around a quarter of China's total annual grains production, and most of the summer grains harvest has been completed.

 

China's annual grain output peaked at 512 million tons in 1998 and has been falling for the past five years, hit mainly by reductions in acreage.

 

As the result of the country's economic boom, a lot of arable land has been used for more profitable industrial development.

 

Many farmers have also abandoned their land and moved into cities to seek more profitable jobs, due to poor farm income amid low grain prices.

 

But the government became concerned about food security following a jump in grain prices since late last year and a continuous fall in grain stocks.

 

As a result, Beijing adopted some measures earlier this year to encourage grain production.

 

This year's summer grains harvest is likely to reverse the trend of declining production, according to reports from various government agencies.

 

The government set a production target of 455 million tons of grain this year, higher than the 431 million tons realized in 2003, which was the lowest level in more than a decade.