Since summer grain crops do not account for a large proportion of the whole year’s total output and as the drought has been relieved in time, China is completely confident it will realize stable grain output in 2009. This view was expressed by Chen Xiwen, Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs and Director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Rural Work, when interviewed by CCTV.

Chen explained that summer grain mainly refers to wheat, whose annual output each summer is over 200 billion jin. Compared with total grain production of 1.057 trillion jin last year, that means the amount of wheat harvested during the summer makes up around one-fifth of the total grain output for the entire year, which is a proportionally small amount.

Chen said that of the more than 400 million mu of wheat sowing areas this year, 40 percent suffered from drought. By the end of February, the drought had been to some extent relieved by man-made irrigation and widespread rain and snow.

“At the time when wheat really entered the turning green and growing stages, the drought had been basically solved. Therefore I do not think it will have a huge impact on the summer grain crops overall, and the summer grain will not greatly impact the whole year’s grain production either. From this point of view, the government is still greatly confident in reporting stable grain production in 2009,” Chen said.

By People's Daily Online