December 2, 2008
China foresees bumper grain harvest this year
China can expect a record-high grain output of 525 billion kilogrammes this year, sustaining a rising momentum of grain harvest for 5 straight years, a top economic planner in Hefei said on Monday (Dec 2, 2008).
Du Ying, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission at the meeting held in this capital of East China's Anhui Province said that the steady increase in the grain output has helped reinforced people's confidence in the country's economic and social development.
However, he pointed out that China will face a hard year in the agricultural sector in 2009, as the global financial crisis started to cause turbulence in the world grain market.
Du said that major prices of wheat, corn and rice started to fall in October. He urged local governments to increase minimum purchase prices for major agriculture products as well as subsidies to the farming sector as a weak market would hurt farmers.
The commission's figures showed that the per-capita farmer's income would surpass RMB4,600 (US$669) this year, which is RMB400 more than last year's level.
