Advertisement
Heavy rain takes toll on China’s summer wheat crop
- Wet weather during critical growing stage pushes down yields, statistics bureau says
- Decline unlikely to affect national drive for food security, analysts say
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Yuanyue Dangin Beijing
China’s summer wheat output has fallen for the first time in seven years in the aftermath of heavy rain in key growing regions, according to official data released on Saturday.
Despite a 0.4 per cent increase in wheat acreage this summer, yields fell by 1.3 per cent, and total output dropped by 0.9 per cent to 134.53 million tonnes, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.
The bureau said the main reason for the drop was the prolonged heavy rain in the lead-up to harvest season.
Advertisement
“Large-scale rainfall occurred in the northern wheat region in late May. It lasted for a long time, was in large volumes and affected a wide range of areas, resulting in insufficient sunlight during the grain filling period [of growth] and a decrease in grain weight,” it said.
The northern wheat region is centred on the province of Henan, where persistent rain complicated harvests and led to crop spoilage.
Advertisement
In 2022, Henan was China’s second-highest grain-producing province after Heilongjiang in the northeast, where the main crop is rice harvested in autumn.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x