China will expect a rise in the output of summer-harvested grain crops this year if no natural adversities occur in the next 15 days, says a report released by the Ministry of Agriculture here Monday.

With winter wheat entering its harvest season, early rice has already been seeded in the south, northern China's spring sowing comes to an end, and the harvest of summer grains crops across the country has been going on as scheduled. The task of stabilizing China's grain supply is "challenging but possible," says the report.

The official report attributed the good prospect to numerous factors, including enhanced fiscal support and production guidance from the governments at various levels and agricultural departments as well as the utilization of agro-technology.

For instance, government subsidies to wheat growers has been raised from last year's 100 million yuan (12.09 million US dollars) to one billion yuan (120.92 million US dollars) this year. Meanwhile, the number of subsidized regions has grown from last year's six provinces to the year's 11 major production bases.

As more farmers turn to wheat growing in 2005, the report predicts that the acreage under winter wheat to be harvested this summer will be at least 670,000 hectares more than in 2004, the first ever increase in seven consecutive years.

According to the ministry, a total of 130,000 agro-technicians have been dispatched to rural areas so far, helping more than 13 million farmers to make better use of fertilizer. The year's acreage sowed to top-quality winter wheat is also expected to reach 10.7 million hectares, up 18.5 percent over last year.

Given that the yield of summer grain crops is only one-fifth of China's annual grain production, the report acknowledged, to alleviate China's grain supply shortfall, early rice and autumn grain crop still play a crucial role.

An emergency notice, issued earlier this month by the ministry, requires all local governments to step up support and guidance to farmers engaged in grain production.

Source: Xinhua