China to see another bumper wheat harvest

BEIJING, China - China will reap another bumper wheat harvest this year, despite a winter drought in its main growing areas, Nie Zhenbang, head of China's State Administration of Grain, said on Friday.

"I am very confident," he told reporters on the sidelines of China's annual parliamentary session in Beijing.

He said the wheat harvest had been saved by the government's emergency response to the drought, which was largely alleviated by irrigation, rain and snow, some of which was artificially seeded.

Nie said China had strong grain reserves and its stocks-to-use ratio was much higher than the global average, and China could fully guarantee its grain security and be basically self-sufficient in grains.

Last year, China suddenly became a net importer of U.S. corn, buying 1.5 million tonnes, having stayed out of the market for years. After a poor harvest, China was forced to import to meet surging demand for animal feed, as well as consumption by its corn processing industry.

Many traders and analysts believe the country will have to keep importing corn, and some saw China's drought as a sign of a possible weakening in its wheat position, which helped to spur U.S. wheat futures.

But officials have repeatedly stressed China's overall grains self-sufficiency and said China holds abundant wheat stocks. When talking of "grains", Chinese officials are normally referring to rice, wheat and corn.

China's corn stocks were relatively tight but the country could still meet demand this year, Nie said. He did say whether that meant China would not need to import more corn this year.

(Source: http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/Story/A1Story20110304-266562.html)