Drought, flood threaten China's granary

HARBIN - China's largest grain producer, Heilongjiang province, is facing dual drought and flood challenges during this year's spring harvest, according to experts.

Ten counties and cities in the province's west are suffering a lack of rain, while 29 others in the east and north are threatened by flood, meteorology experts said at a consultation meeting on flood control and drought relief held by the provincial government on Monday.

Experts predicted the spring drought in the west may become the worst for the region in the past five years. On the contrary, the soil in the northern and eastern areas are excessively wet.

According to data from the provincial water resources department, the rainfall since November 2014 has been 40 percent more than that recorded during the same period in previous years.

In 2014, grain output in Heilongjiang, located in China's northeast,totaled 62.4 billion kg, accounting for around 10 percent of the country's total. The province contributed to 46.1 percent of the country's grain output increase in the year.