FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 09/01 - CHINA (4 September)
Heavy seasonal and storm rains since early July have resulted in flash floods and mudslides particularly in the south, while a most severe drought in some parts of the west and north of the country has affected tens of millions of people and livestock.
The torrential rains in the first days of July, caused by typhoons “Durian” and “Utor”, principally affected the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi Zhuang, depriving farmers of the summer rice harvest in late July. Preliminary flood assessments indicate that about 560 000 hectares in Guangdong and 670 000 hectares in Guangxi were affected. Some 15 million people, including a large number of victims, have been affected. Significant damage to rural infrastructure is also reported. Torrential rains in the third week of August worsened the situation, particularly in the southwestern province of Yunnan, where an increasing number of victims is reported and substantial damage to crops, as well as to housing and infrastructure, has been registered. At the end of August, tropical storm “Fitow” brought torrential rains again to the southern provinces of Guangdong and Hainan, causing some damage to fieldcrops, mainly rice and sugar cane, and coastal fisheries.
Meanwhile, it is reported that the western province of Sichuan is suffering from its worst drought in 50 years. About 5.5 million people, almost 6 million cattle and more than 3.25 million hectares of crops, principally rice, some soybeans and maize, are affected. It is estimated that nearly 500 000 hectares of these will yield almost nothing. By contrast, rains resumed by end July in the other drought affected provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin, the largest soybean and maize producing areas respectively, in the northeast.
Wheat production in year 2001 is officially forecast at 93.9 million tonnes, compared to the previous year’s 99.6 million tonnes and well below the average of 111.4 million tonnes of the past 5 years. Maize output is expected to be about 111.4 million tonnes, some 5 percent above last year’s volume but much below the average of almost 120 million tonnes for the past five years. Official forecasts point to a paddy output in 2001 of some 179 million tonnes, compared to 187.9 million tonnes in 2000 and a 5-year average of nearly 196 million tonnes.