BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese authorities have beefed up grain production for the second half of the year, since frequent natural disasters and recent fluctuations in international grain prices have placed significant challenges on domestic grain crop production.
"The Chinese rice bowl should not fall into others' hands," Han Changfu, the Minister of Agriculture, was quoted by China National Radio as saying.
Han emphasized the significance of food security at the Seminar of Eight Southern Provinces and Regions' Autumn Grain Crops Production in central China's Changsha city on Saturday.
Last Wednesday, Premier Wen Jiabao presided over an executive meeting of the State Council and set out detailed measures to stabilize the autumn grain crops' production and supply in terms of disaster prevention and relief, fertilization, technological and financial support to farmers.
Initial statistics show that this year, 266,000 more hectares of farmland is being used to grow autumn grain crops nationwide over last year. However, about two-thirds of the autumn output is uncertain given unforeseeable climate factors and the spreading of plant diseases and insect pests in many flood-hit provinces, according to a report from Xinhua News Agency on Friday.
"The abundant rainwater in North China this summer is generally favorable for the growth of autumn crops," said Lu Bu, a researcher from the Institute of Agriculture Resources and Regional Planning at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
"But the rice yield in the south is supposed to drop, attributed to increased floods, typhoons and other extreme weather conditions. As a whole, I estimate that less than 2 percent of the grain crop will be lost this year, or that the grain output will keep at the same level of last year," Lu told China Daily.
When asked about the possible impact on China of recent soaring wheat prices in the international market, a source at the National Development and Reform Commission reportedly said the impact would be limited because China is self-sufficient on staple food grains such as wheat and rice, while imported staples account for less than 1 percent.
Lu, however, had a different view.
"The changes in grain prices in the international market definitely affect the Chinese market as the two have been combined after China joined the World Trade Organization. The impacts are more obvious for some regions and some crops," Lu said.
(Source: China Daily)
