'Food will cost more' due to US drought_美文_趣味英语-查字典英语网

'Food will cost more' due to US drought

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The US drought will not endanger domestic food security, but it is almost certain to result in costlier cooking oil and pork, experts said.

The drought, the worst in more than 50 years, will affect China but not to the extent that basic food supplies are threatened, said Zhai Jianglin, vice-president of the Academy of Science and Technology at the State Administration of Grain.

There is no indication of any need for the government to stabilize the market with strategic reserves of oil-bearing grains, he said. But he declined to comment on whether Beijing will use reserves in the following months.

Price hikes for soybean and corn in the international markets will affect domestic prices because of imports.

But "for other grains, such as rice and wheat, China has sufficient domestic supplies and will not easily be affected," he said.

Zhang Zhongjun, assistant representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in China, said imports account for about 80 percent of the country's soybean supplies.

But, Zhang added, domestic grain supplies are adequate and there is even a substantial reserve program.

While corn prices will rise, China imports just 5 percent of its supplies, said Wang Ruiyuan, vice-president of the Chinese Cereals and Oils Association.

Huang Guiheng, manager of Bric Global Agricultural Consultants, added that the US drought has already driven up domestic soybean prices significantly, as half of China's annual soybean imports are from the US.