China counts cost of snow-hit crops

The recent cold weather that brought snow to much of China in January has taken its toll on crops.

Around 11.87m ha of crops across 20 provinces of China have been damaged by low temperatures or freezing weather caused by the fierce winter storms that have plagued large swathes of the country since mid-January, according to China's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA).

Production of cole (brassica) vegetables and oranges has been severely hit, the MOA reports. Close to half of brassica plantings, equating to around 3.26m ha, have suffered damage as well as 2.81m ha of other vegetable crops. Meanwhile, some 1.26m ha of fruit trees were affected, including oranges, and trade sources fear there may be permanent damage to some citrus trees.

Transport problems in snow hit-areas initially led to shortages and price rises for vegetables. While the situation has eased following the government's move to provide relief supplies, the winter storms have exacerbated soaring food prices, which pushed Chinese inflation to an 11-year high in January.