June 3, 2014
 

Bumper harvest forecast for China wheat

China's Ministry of Agriculture has forecast an output rise of summer wheat and its 11th consecutive bumper harvest.

Wang Fahong, a wheat expert with the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said both per-unit wheat yield and total yield this year in Shandong province would increase.

China produced 120 million tonnes of wheat last year, one fifth of the world's total. The planting area of summer wheat is estimated at 27.67 million ha this year, almost 70,000 ha more than in 2012.

Shen Hongyuan, senior analyst of the Zhengzhou Grain Wholesale Market, said that China's wheat harvest was important in keeping the world's wheat price stable.

The Chicago agricultural commodity futures traded lower on Friday in response to the forecast. The price of wheat closed at US$6.27 per bushel, down by 0.83% from the previous day trading.