The State Grain and Oil Information Center has cut its forecast of China's 2006 grain output by more than one million tons after considering bad weather in parts of the country this year.

 

The center said China's maize output would reach 141 million tons in 2006, a increase of 1.2 percent from last year. But the total would be one million tons less than the forecast in August.

 

The downward adjustment was mainly due to the severe droughts this summer in Sichuan, Chongqing in southwest China and Liaoning in northeast China.

 

The country's wheat output will reach 102.97 million tons this year, compared with last month's prediction of 103.1 million tons.

 

Among the oil-bearing crops, the center said soybean output would amount to 15.9 million tons, a fall of 2.7 percent, or 450,000 tons less than 2005.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 6, 2006)