According to the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, the winter wheat crop has been affected by drought and it will likely impact spring planting as well. A combination of severe drought, increased costs of inputs such as seed and fertilizer and earlier snow storms pose the biggest threat to China's spring planting in several years.
Northern China's crops have been hit hard by the drought. The Ministry predicts 11% of the 2.23 million hectares of crops will suffer heavy losses in production output.
Also a concern for wheat output is the presence of several wheat diseases. Wheat stripe rust has rapidly spread through the country as a result of snow storms and slowly rising temperatures. Although the harvest is expected to be reduced because of it, the ministry says China hopes to limit reduction to less than 5% through acreage expansion and higher yields.