Rainfall to ease drought in China’s key wheat areas, national meteorological center says

By Reuters

Rainfall in China through next Tuesday is expected to ease drought conditions in key wheat-growing provinces like Henan and Shaanxi, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Most of China’s major wheat regions will experience clear, harvest-friendly weather this week, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The agriculture ministry has urged local authorities to speed up harvesting and ensure timely grain drying and machinery support to secure the summer crop ahead of expected rains, Xinhua added.

The ministry pledged in a meeting on Monday to effectively manage disaster prevention and mitigation during the flood season, and guard against abrupt shifts between drought and flooding, according to a ministry statement.

It also called for early warnings, preparations and responses against disasters to minimise losses, vowing to push forward with summer planting and increase yields, the statement showed.

Chinese authorities earlier this month issued multiple weather alerts as high temperatures threatened crops in Henan, whose wheat production accounted for about 27% of China’s total wheat output in 2024. A decline in production could prompt China to increase wheat imports to address potential shortfalls.

Reuters previously reported that Chinese buyers recently purchased 400,000 to 500,000 metric tons of wheat from Australia and Canada, as concerns grow over the impact of heat on crops in China’s agricultural heartland.

Reporting by Ella Cao, Yukun Zhang and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Toby Chopra and Hugh Lawson