Economy

Wen calls for efforts to boost grain output

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-12 09:55

BEIJING - China's central government has urged more efforts to be made to ensure this year's grain output, a government statement said Wednesday.

Related readings:  China may harvest 196.6m tons of rice in 2010  China orders curbs on grain price speculation  Despite natural disasters, grain harvest looks good  China cuts forecast for 2010 rice production

A string of policies have been rolled out to support autumn grain production, said the State Council, China's cabinet, in the statement released after an executive meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao Wednesday.

Autumn grain production is key for China to meet its annual output target as it accounts for 70 percent of the total production.

The Ministry of Finance will allocate 1.1 billion yuan ($162.4 million) to subsidize purchases of fertilizer and pest control, the statement said.

Wen urged efforts to restore production in disaster-hit regions at the meeting, after large swathes of farmland have been affected by floods in recent months.

Wen also stressed the application of technology and weather forecasting at the meeting.

China's summer grain output declined 0.3 percent year-on-year to 123.1 million tons this year, the first fall in seven years, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.