Official estimates indicate that the overall grain output to reach 492.5 million tonnes in 1997, the second highest crop on record after the previous year’s 504.5 million tonnes. This is despite the severe drought in the northern parts of the country which affected more than 33 million hectares of farmland. The revised estimate of maize production is now put at 105 million tonnes, about 18 percent lower than the previous year and 2 percent below the average of the preceding five years.
Production of the 1998 winter wheat crop, to be harvested from April, is anticipated to decline due to the decrease in sown area which resulted from insufficient moisture. Out of six major wheat producing provinces three have been reported as experiencing dry conditions which are forecast to continue into the spring. Snow and low temperatures in the first-half of January have also damaged wheat in parts of southern China.
Overall, the food supply situation is favourable with satisfactory stock levels in the country, following the previous year’s bumper crop harvest.