China snowfalls bring some relief to drought-hit grain belt

Reuters: Snow across drought-hit parts of north and central China brought some relief from a drought threatening winter wheat crops that has raised speculation of higher global prices, state forecasters said on Thursday. The welcome, but so far limited, snowfalls came after the Chinese government said keeping up grain output was important to defeating inflationary expectations driven by rising food prices.

Snow was recorded in the capital Beijing, and parts of Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, some of which have suffered from months without precipitation, Sun Jun, a senior forecaster for China's meteorological service told state radio. "Because the precipitation will be concentrated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, it will have a limited effect on mitigating the drought in northern areas," said Sun….