We haven't had a major production hiccup in China for a number of years ... grain commodities are a tinderbox now easy credit is gone.
------------------------------------------------- Drought deepens in China's wheat heartland
Author: Simon Rabinovitch,Ken Wills
BEIJING, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A severe drought in northern China has spread in the country's wheat heartland and cut off drinking water for nearly 4 million people, the government said late on Sunday.
Drought has affected a total of 9.67 million hectares of crops across the country, including in the provinces of Henan, Shandong and Hebei, the country's three leading wheat growers, the Ministry of Water Resources said on its website (www.mwr.gov.cn).
These areas, which produce about a third of China's wheat crop, have had barely any rainfall since November. Precipitation has been estimated to be 70 to 90 percent lower than in normal years.
"We must implement all kinds of measures to counter the drought," said E Jingping, vice head of the ministry. "We must strengthen the integration of the management and the deployment of water resources."
About 3.7 million people and 1.85 million heads of livestock have been left with no access to drinking water, the ministry said.
The ministry said electric pumps and water delivery trucks had helped about 500,000 people cope with the crisis and that more help was on the way.
Northern China is frequently hit with drought, but improved irrigation efforts have helped offset the impact.
The amount of land afflicted by drought this year is roughly 28 percent larger than that hit last year, state media reported on Sunday.
Despite the dry conditions, China still reaped its second largest wheat harvest ever last year, producing 112.5 million tonnes, a rise of 3 percent from 2007.
China, the world's top wheat consumer, has built up ample government reserves that may enable it to avoid importing large amounts of grain.
