China says drought eased after snow, rain
Beijing (AFP) March 2, 2011 – China has said that snow and rain in the country’s northern wheat-growing regions over the past week had helped to ease a crippling drought that had sparked fears about rising global food prices. “The drought in most of the country’s winter wheat-growing regions has eased considerably after the widespread precipitation,” the agriculture ministry said in a statement dated Tuesday. The ministry added the situation in some provinces was “basically resolved”. “Life-saving” snow and rain of up to 40 millimetres (1.5 inches) fell in north China late last month during the “crucial” growing period for parched crops, it said. By Monday, a total of 2.5 million hectares (6.2 million acres) were still affected, according to the government drought relief headquarters — far less than the 7.7 million hectares that were at risk a month ago. The dry spell has afflicted China’s wheat heartland for more than a month, causing mounting concern abroad that world commodity prices would soar if the country were to buy a large amount of the grain overseas due to a crop failure. … Despite the apparent improvement, the agriculture ministry warned the task to secure a good harvest remained “arduous” due to the lengthy drought and the fact that the affected regions still needed more rain in the coming weeks.
