August 5, 2008

China's Xinjiang to scale down cotton planting for corn and wheat

Xinjiang Ugyur Autonomous Region, plans to expand wheat and corn planting areas while cutting down cotton sown areas.

Xinjiang is the largest cotton producing region in China.

The region is planning to expand wheat acreage 20 percent to 620,000 hectares   to ensure that next year's wheat production stays above 4 million tonnes.

Corn planting areas would also be expanded to 700,000 hectares to produce 6.2 million tonnes of corn

The expansion ensure a balanced supply of grain within the region and would also help build Xinjiang into a backup base for China's grain self-sufficiency, according to the region's agriculture department.