China's early-season rice, which accounts for about 17 percent of the country's total rice output, escaped drought damage in May and June, but lingering drought conditions in China's south-western provinces have created uncertainty about prospects for this year's grain harvest.
The National Bureau of Statistics said early-season rice this year had risen 4.5 percent from last year to 32.76 million tonnes. The bureau said a yield that was 5.4 percent higher than last year's contributed to the bumper harvest, although acreage under early-season rice fell by 0.8 percent from a year ago.
Drought, which hit parts of major rice growing provinces of Hubei and Hunan in May and June, is now damaging crops in parts of the south-west provinces and regions, including Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing and Guangxi, although these provinces are not the major grain growing areas.
The agriculture ministry said drought in these areas have threatened harvest of corn and late-season rice there as no sufficient rains were forecast in future 10 days, the ministry said at a statement posted on its website (www.agri.gov.cn). The bad weather has raised uncertainties about whether China can continue to reap bumper grain harvests this year, said the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top planning body. But analysts said expanded acreage in the major grain areas in the north-east coupled with favourable weather there may help offset the drought damage in the south-west.
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