Chinese farmers have planted slightly more winter wheat this year despite rain in October which delayed sowing of the crop for more than a week, agriculture officials said on Tuesday.
Farmers in major growing areas in the north, including the largest growing Henna, Shane and Shandong provinces, have finished planting the crop, one of the major wheat crops to be harvested in May and June 2006, said the ministry at its Web site at www.agri.gov.cn.
Winter wheat accounts for more than 90 percent of China's total wheat output. "Acreage is likely to grow by 1.0 percent instead of estimate of 2.0 percent, as farmers in some areas failed to plant due to excessive rains in October," said one agriculture official.
Despite lower wheat prices this year, analysts said farmers are still keen to grow more wheat, as cotton prices are not high enough to attract them to shift to the crop.
Local warehouses started to auction old grain stocks after a small recovery of wheat prices since October.