China’s Wheat Harvest Risks 7-Year Low as Farmers Battle Drought

China’s wheat output could drop as much as 5% this year to the lowest since 2018, after recent drought in key growing regions stressed the crop.

Although that would be a sizeable decline from last year’s record haul of 140 million tons, ample stockpiles and relatively weak domestic demand are likely to cushion the impact and prevent a supply shock. Still, it would be an unwelcome development for a government focused heavily on food security, and could force a rethink on imports.