Commentary

China Watch

Forum Digests

Columnists

Letters

Summer of plenty

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-19 07:39

The bumper harvest China is to reap this summer would surely be remarkable. It would be the first time since the founding of new China that the world's most populous country will witness a fifth consecutive rich harvest of summer grain.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the total summer crop output for this year will definitely surpass the 115.34 billion kilograms for 2007, after 85 percent of the wheat has been harvested.

It is reassuring to know that the country's agricultural production has basically survived the severest winter weather in half a century that had attacked central, southern and eastern China early this year.

Yet, more encouraging is the promise that such a copious harvest of summer grain will considerably help boost food supply and thus rein in consumer inflation.

Summer crops usually account for about 23 percent of the nation's annual grain output. A good summer harvest can lay a solid foundation for increased annual grain output.

A severe invasion of pests, heavy rain and inadequate power supply all may still affect the summer harvest. But the prospect of a good crop will undoubtedly boost Chinese policymakers' confidence to bring down the decade-high inflation.

The country's consumer price index grew 7.7 percent last month over a year earlier, 0.8 percentage points lower than that in April. The moderation of consumer inflation was largely because growth of food prices, the main driver of inflation, has slowed from 22.1 percent in April to 19.9 percent last month.

As long as food supply remains ample, it is more than likely that the country will eventually stop accelerated inflation.

A key reason why the summer crop will be bountiful this year is the strengthening of government support for agricultural production in recent years.

Statistics indicate that investment in the agricultural sector grew the fastest among industrial sectors, expanding 66.1 percent during the first five months. This compared favorably with secondary and tertiary industries, in which the investment rose 25.6 percent and 25.0 percent, respectively.

To maintain stable growth of food supply, the authorities should come up with more preferential policies to further boost farmers' enthusiasm for agricultural production. In particular, the government should take measures to guarantee that farmers can earn more from each bumper harvest they reap.

(China Daily 06/19/2008 page8)