The acreage of winter wheat crops across China in the 2006 to 2007 crop year should reach 320 million mu (21.3 million hectares), the Ministry of Agriculture has announced at a national conference on winter crops.

Last year, the planting area of winter wheat was about 21.4 million hectares.

The total acreage of autumn and winter crops should exceed 690 million mu (46 million hectares), with that of autumn and winter grain surpassing 380 million mu, said Minister of Agriculture Du Qinglin at the meeting.

Thanks to a series of central government policies, China's grain production had grown rapidly in recent years, Du said.

Figures from the ministry show in 2004 and 2005, grain output increased by 53.3 billion kilograms. The output of summer grain this year reached 113.8 billion kilograms, up 7.4 billion kilograms from last year.

Grain production is always an important strategic problem relating to China's economic security, Du said, urging relevant departments to make all efforts to ensure good harvests this year.

The Ministry of Agriculture has ordered local governments to give timely subsidies to farmers for high-quality seed purchase, promoting the use of advanced technology, and prevention of insect problems.

(Xinhua News Agency September 20, 2006)