S. China lacks raw materials

Source: CCTV.com | 02-27-2008 13:45

The second half of February is a crucial time for the spring round of sowing and ploughing. Farmers in China's snow-hit southern regions have been working around the clock to plant crops and vegetables. But in areas such as Hunan Province, there's an alarming lack of raw materials.

Zhuzhou County is a vegetable supply base for many cities in Hunan Province. But widespread snow since the beginning of this year destroyed over 70 percent of its vegetable fields. Millions of rice seedlings were hit by frost and many greenhouses were also severely damaged. Direct economic losses totaled 300-million yuan.

Wang Jianping, secretary of CPC Zhuzhou county Committee, said, "This is a time when southern China experiences a severe food shortage between the two harvests. We urgently need the seeds of fast-growing vegetables that can germinate in less than a month."

Li Jikui, deputy director of Zhuzhou Bureau of Agriculture, said, "We currently lack about 60 tons of agricultural plastic sheeting, greenhouse covers and plastic film. There's only a week left before the end of this ploughing season so we really don't have enough time."

Most vegetables on sale currently come from other provinces, with market prices higher than average. To ease the pressure, the government distributed nearly two-thousand kilos of seedlings for immediate planting. But according to local agriculture authorities, the demand for vegetable seeds remains high, and the region still needs over two-thousand tons of fertilizer.

Editor:Zhang Ning