China repeated its success in growing super hybrid rice with a record output. Visa International and Latin America also reaped their good harvest here in China.

Super-hybrid rice output topping 800 kilos per mu

A testing team comprised of agricultural experts confirmed on May 13 that the Pilot Field of Super Hybrid Rice in Sanya, Hainan Province achieved an output of 833.23 kilograms per mu.

The variety in test this time, P88S/0293, was the one of the latest results of the efforts of China National Hybrid Rice R&D Center led by Yuan Longping, fellow member of Chinese Academy of Engineering and Father of Hybrid Rice. With an output topping 800 kilos per mu, China leads the world in theories and technologies of super hybrid rice.

Starting from Dec.17 in 2003, the test lasted 134 days. The good harvest was achieved amid lingering low temperature days which were rarely experienced by Hainan.

Similar harvest for the same variety was gained in Sept.2002 in Hunan where the output was 817.3 kilos per mu. The repeated success this time represents the maturity of the technology. It will be grown in a large scale around the country after national testing is conducted.

Visa issued more than 2m. cards in China for Q1

The latest statistics of Visa International on May 12 showed that more than 2m. Visa cards were issued in the Chinese mainland in the first quarter of the year.

By March 31, 2004, Visa cards issued in the Chinese mainland had reached 2.08 million. That's more than doubled compared with the end of 690, 000 cards by the end of March in previous year. Visa has secured its dominance in the international card market in the Chinese mainland.

The transaction of Visa cards hit a record of 735 million USD here for the first quarter, up nearly 270 percent over the same period of last year.

Exports of Latin America to China increased 72% last year

San Diego based UN Economic Commission for Latin America released a report on May 12, stating a fast growth of trade between countries in this region and China last year. Their exports to China rocketed 72.1 percent. China has become the third largest importer and fourth largest exporters of Latin America.

The report says the brisk demand from US, EU and Asian economies including China has pushed up prices of basic products such as copper, oil, soybean, coffee, cotton, wool and sugar in the world market. This, in addition to the efforts of Latin American countries on tapping the international market, has geared up the exports of this region with a growth of 8.3 percent last year and 17 percent for Q1 this year.

By People's Daily Online