CHINA FORECASTS 397 MLN TONNES GRAIN HARVEST
China expects its 1987 grain harvest to be
397 mln tonnes, eight mln tonnes short of its target, the New
China News Agency quoted a State Statistical Bureau spokesman
as saying.
    The harvest will be China's second highest in history but
poor weather and low incentives for grain-producing farmers
have kept yields down, earlier Chinese press reports said.
    Industry sources expect China to import at least 10 mln
tonnes of grain this year because of the harvest shortfall.
    Chinese customs figures showed grain imports of 9.59 mln
tonnes in the first eight months of 1987, compared with 6.09
mln in the same 1986 period.
    Agriculture Minister He Kang said last month state prices
for grain purchase from growers were to be adjusted to increase
the incentive for grain production.
    China could not afford to become a major food importer, he
said.
    The State Statistics Bureau spokesman also said China's
1987 cotton output was expected to rise 10 pct over 1986 to 390
mln tonnes.
 REUTER
