Wednesday, August 09, 2000, updated at 18:47(GMT+8)
China
Drought Cuts Grain Output in Northeast China Province
The most severe drought that Jilin Province, in northeast China, has ever had in its history, has so far cut grain output by 5 billion kg.
According to provincial vice governor Yang Qingcai, 3.265 million ha of crops has been affected by the drought, with 976,000 ha of farmland producing nothing, causing 6.59 billion yuan in direct economic losses.
An investigation said that Jilin's drought-affected farmland accounts for 74 percent of the province's total farmland.
Grain production in a dozen counties and cities was cut by half compared with previous years, the vice governor said, adding that local government has allocated 27 million yuan in disaster-relief funds.