Fruit cultivation hurt grain supply: official

The excessive development of the fruit industry in Shaanxi province is threatening the grain supply, a deputy warned at the ongoing session of the 12th People's Congress of Shaanxi province.

Du Xiying, deputy to the session and president of Xi'an Fengyuan Fruit Industry Co Ltd, spoke at the session and urged the government to create a policy to slow down the development of fruit cultivation in the province.

Du said that in recent years, more and more grain fields have been used to plant cash crops such as fruit trees, flowers and saplings, which can provide a higher economic benefit to farmers than just planting grains.

"A rough estimate made by the agricultural department indicated that grain acreage had fallen by 20 percent in recent years in Shaanxi's Guanzhong area, the main grain-producing area in the province, creating a potential problem for the province's grain security," Du said.

Data from Shaanxi's fruit industry showed that it is China's top province for fruit production, with total fruit planting area of more than 1,142,667 hectares and annual output of 14.2 million metric tons.

Du said the provincial government should adjust its policy to slow the overheated development of cash crops to ensure grain security in the province.