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With a bumper harvest in sight for this year,
China is sowing the seeds for a fruitful 2005, planning to expand its
acreage for wheat -- the nation's
second most important crop after rice -- by 666,600 hectares
.
The added area is expected to increase China's wheat production by at
least 3.5 million tons, said Wang Xiaobing, an official with the Ministry
of Agriculture.
Based on last year's official statistics, total
winter wheat seedlings
for 2005 will be expanded to 22.7 million hectares. In China, only 10 per
cent of the wheat crop is sown in spring, according to Wang.
The wheat acreage expansion paves the way for the country to secure yet
another bumper harvest, Wang said.
A good summer harvest usually means an advantageous agricultural
production year, since the autumn harvest is generally used to offset
losses from summer harvest shortfalls, experts said.
Summer grain wheat represents 23 per cent of China's total grain
production.
This year, summer grain output has increased by 5 per cent year on year
to hit 101.05 million tons, ministry statistics indicate.
With the increased summer grain counted, the country's output of food
grain for the whole year is expected to reach the target of 455 million
tons, Wang said.
Like last year, 2005 will be another key year for China to recover its
grain production, which dipped from a record high of 512 million tons in
1998 to 430 million tons in 2003, according to ministry sources.
Minister of Agriculture Du Qinglin earlier said in 2003 his ministry
planned to increase grain output by 45 million tons in three years.
Upon reaching the goal, the country's grain output will total 475 million tons, a point generally regarded
as being able to basically balance grain market supply and
demand -- with a marginal amount of imported grain, Wang
said.
(China Daily) | 
Updated: 2004-09-28 10:36
