China Vice Premier calls for action to secure autumn grain harvest

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Vice Premier Liu Guozhong has urged local authorities to seek to minimise agricultural losses and ensure a robust autumn grain harvest, after torrential rain and floods lashed Henan, the country's largest wheat-growing province.

During a visit to Henan, the vice premier urged authorities to take measures to promote the restoration of affected crops and guide farmers to re-plant land on which crops were destroyed.

In July, a small town in Henan was pounded by almost a year's worth of rain in one day, as the extreme storms that battered the south this summer shift to the central and northern provinces.

The vice premier emphasized the critical need for disaster prevention and mitigation to protect the autumn grain crops and achieve a successful harvest.

He also called for enhanced efforts to promote grain and oil crop yields to bolster national food security.

Henan, known as China's granary, produces about one-third of the country's wheat, so a reduced harvest could lead China, the world's largest wheat consumer, to seek additional supplies from abroad.

Although the summer wheat harvest in Henan is mostly complete, hot temperatures and rainy weather have raised concerns about the quality of stored wheat, prompting some farmers to sell their supplies.

China's state grains stockpiler Sinograin said on Wednesday the firm and its subsidiaries will increase the level of domestic wheat storage to support farmers.

(Reporting by Ella Cao and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by David Evans and David Holmes)