Drought in China could effect grain prices and US exports
Image via WikipediaWord has it that China's weather forecasters expect rain in the next few days, but they are too skittish to make an official prediction. That is understandable, given the stakes. Gripped by its worst drought for 60 years, the world's biggest wheat producer is desperate for a downpour to avoid a crop failure that would have an impact on food prices around the world.US farmers may be better off planting wheat than corn for ethanol this year. The US has the capacity to produce an abundant supply of wheat just as it did when Russia harvests failed.
The challenge is evident from the burst of recent reports in the Chinese media about food, water and the environment.
Grain hoarding is already a problem, according to TV report about farmers who are reluctant to sell their stocks because they expect the price to increase in the near future. China News quoted the manager of Yucheng Xinfeng flour mill in Henan complaining about the difficulty of securing supplies since the start of the Chinese new year.
"In the two months before the Spring festival, we were getting several hundred tonnes a day, but now we get only 30-40 tonnes. There are a lot fewer sellers because some people are still on holiday and because of the drought."
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BTW the boat pix is from Kazakhstan, but you get the point..
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