China is expected to produce a record high of more than 500
million tons of grain this year, according to a senior agricultural
official.
However, the country has to maintain an annual output of 500
million tons up to 2010 if it wants to ensure an adequate food
supply, said Wei Chao'an, vice minister of agriculture.
The predicted grain output this year indicates China's grain
production has entered a new stage of development, Wei said at a
recent national meeting on grain production held in Hefei, capital
of Anhui Province in east China.
"However, we still are faced with some new problems in
stabilizing grain production" Wei said.
Wei said the problems included tight global grain supply and the
decrease in grain reserves which had triggered the grain price
hikes.
The growing oil price worldwide not only propelled the
production of fuel with grain as a raw material, but also increased
the cost of grain transport.
In China, he said, the extreme of weather due to global climate
change has made agricultural disaster prevention and reduction more
difficult.
"National disasters in the first nine months of this year
resulted in a loss of 44.5 million tons of grain," Wei said.
(Xinhua News Agency December 2, 2007)
