But the decline will not lead to an obvious fluctuation of wheat prices on Chinese markets over the next six months, bureau spokesman Ye Zhen said.

This is the second consecutive year that the yield of summer crops has dropped in the country.

Last year, it plummeted by 11 million tons or 9.3 percent to 107.5 million tons.

Apart from East China's Anhui Province, North China's Shanxi Province, Central China's Henan Province and Northwest China's Gansu Province, all the other main growing areas witnessed a decline in wheat output.

The drop was especially obvious in East China's Jiangsu and Shandong provinces, Southwest China's Sichuan Province and North China's Hebei Province.

The bureau said the drop in output was mainly caused by the reduction in areas cultivated for wheat, which was a measure of the structural adjustment of agriculture.

It was down by 1.33 million hectares or 4.5 percent from last year's level, to 28.25 million hectares. This has caused a drop of 4.75 million tons in output, accounting for up to 97 percent of the total output decline of 4.91 million tons.

Another reason for the decline is the drought which hit more than 20 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in spring and summer.

Owing to the prolonged dry spell, the average yield per hectare declined by 0.1 percent from last year's level to 3,606 kilograms.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, despite the fall in yields, the price of grain will not rise sharply.

An abundant amount of grain from bumper harvests in the past has left China rich in grain reserves. And farmers have stocked up enough grain for their own needs, said Ye Zhen.

In the first half of the year, the prices of the main agricultural products have risen. The price of corn was up 22.4 percent, and that of cotton rose by 18.2 percent.

However, prices are still lower than those for the same period of last year.

In addition, a report by the State Economic and Trade Commission also pointed out that the yield fall will not bring an obvious fluctuation of grain where there is mostly a balance between supply and demand.

(China Daily 07/26/2001)