国内英语新闻:Adverse weather may disrupt China's control on prices

BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- There is some part of China that could use additional water -- the drought-hit north, even while the central government is grappling to soak up excess liquidity to contain price hikes.

The dry spell has continued for months in the grain production regions in northern China, setting off concerns that it might threaten China's grain output and thus cause food price hikes, a major contributor of the country's inflation in recent months.

The bad weather came and may aggravate China's battle on price hikes, including higher interest rates and reserve ratios. The government also introduced price caps and promised increases in supplies to stabilize prices.

Meteorological and agricultural experts said it is still too soon to predict a decline in grain output. However, they worried that if the drought continues into the spring, grain output will fall and push up food prices.

DRY SPELL

Water shortages have been gripping nine provinces since October last year, including the six major wheat producing regions in China -- Shanxi, Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu -- which contribute more than 80 percent of the country's total wheat output.

Further, rainfall in the six provinces averaged only 40.2 millimeters since October last year, down 53 percent compared with previous years, according to the National Climate Center.

As of Monday, 60.39 million mu (4.02 million hectares) of crops throughout the nation were plagued by drought, according to the latest statistics from the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

"There have been no rains for four months. It has been too long," said Song Qingguo, a farmer at the Xitiegang village of Qixian County in Henan, where winter wheat output accounts for almost one-fourth of the country's total.

"Wheat output will probably drop if such a situation continues," he worried.

At present, some 15.86 million mu of wheat is exposed to drought, according to Yang Biantong, an official with Henan's water authorities.

Another key wheat growing province of Shandong is facing its worst drought in 60 years, local authorities said. About 2 million hectares of land used for growing wheat, or 56 percent of the wheat-planting areas in the province, have been hit by drought, and the area is expanding, the Shandong provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said.H Scientists say it is a result of the La Nina effect that is also responsible for the harsh winter gripping large parts of China's south, which also affected production and transportation of vegetables and other food.

The Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday that Chinese farm produce prices rose for a fourth consecutive week, through Jan. 23, with the wholesale prices of 18 staple vegetables growing 12.6 percent week on week. One reason for the price hike was the freezing weather in the south, it said.

"The current drought in China is the second worst during the same period of time since 1961 because of the adverse weather", said Zhang Peiqun, director with the weather forecast department of the National Climate Center.

The bad weather will persist in the following period of time, which means the drought in the north and the cold snap in the south will continue, Zhang said.

The China Meteorological Administration forecast on Wednesday that parts of Hubei, Hunan, Anhui and Zhejiang provinces will have heavy snow or snowstorms in the coming three days. Also, icy rain will slash parts of Guizhou and Yunnan provinces.