July 22, 2003

Weather Conditions In Corn And Soybean Producing Areas In China

Heavy July rains have soaked central China in rice areas roughly bounded by the Huang He River to the north and the Yangtze in the south extending westward into Sichuan.

The region includes southern Shandong, a major corn and soybean-producing province.

Month-to-day rainfall totals of 200-400 percent of normal are common in the area between the two rivers, keeping waters above flood stage, especially on the Yangtze. The area includes large single and double-crop producing areas. Double-crop rice is normally harvested during June and July, but many fields are likely flooding from the heavy rains this month. Single-crop rice normally begins harvesting in August.

Meanwhile, corn and soybean fields in northeast China see conditions ranging from slightly too dry in western Jilin and western Heilongijiag to good soil moisture in eastern sections of those two provinces. Jilin and Heilongijiang are responsible for about one-quarter of China's corn production, according to the USDA crop calendar for China.

Ironically, southeast China's coastal provinces, adjacent to Taiwan, have been very dry with July rainfall in some locations extremely limited and soil moisture very short.

Rainfall is expected to accompany Typhoon Imbudo as it first grazes the northern Philippine island of Luzon then takes aim on China just north of Hong Kong and brings heavy rains from Hong Kong northward to those dry coastal provinces beginning Wednesday.