China Snow Destroys Vegetables, Fruit, Rapeseed
Date: 01-Feb-08
Country: CHINA
Author: Lucy Hornby
But the winter wheat crop along the Yellow and Huai River was unlikely to be much affected, said Chen Xiwen, director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Rural Work.
"The snow and cold weather have had a serious effect on winter crops in the south, especially vegetables and fruit where it's been catastrophic," Chen told reporters.
The vegetable shortage in particular could feed rising prices, he said. He estimated inflation in January would be roughly in line with December's 6.5 percent [ID:nPEK177073].
Traders have said that hard freezes could hurt oilseeds, especially rapeseed, but that any damage could be offset by a sharp increase in planted acreage this winter.
Snow and ice across south and central China have cut power and snarled transport, and in some cases brought ice to areas used to mild winters.
The cold weather and disruption in deliveries of feed has caused the deaths of 874,000 pigs, 85,000 cattle, 459,000 sheep and goats and 14.36 million poultry, Chen Weisheng, vice director of the livestock bureau at the Ministry of Agriculture, said in an online press conference on Thursday.
But increased snowfall could also mean more water this year for China, which struggled with drought in 2007. That could help raise overall grains production, Goldman Sachs economist Hong Liang said on Thursday in a research note.
Chen Xiwen said it was too early to tell if there would be any impact on full-year agricultural output, especially grains, since it was too early for most planting.
"To assess the full extent of the disaster, we have to see how long this weather pattern lasts and whether it moves north. If it does, it could be serious," he said.
(Reporting by Lucy Hornby; editing by Michael Roddy)
