The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is expected to become an important producer of quality wheat in China within ten years due to its unique climate and location.
Two years of experimental cultivation of quality wheat in Xinjiang indicate that the products are up to international standards and have great development and market potential, according to agricultural experts.
For a long period of time, China planted ordinary and dual-purpose wheat varieties that are used in bread and pastry processing. Yet these processed products tend to break apart and drop crumbs. An estimated 11.5 billion kg of wheat is imported into China each year, over half of which is used in the production of high-quality bread.
Xinjiang is situated in similar latitudes as Canada and the northern parts of the United States, with a moderate altitude, which is favorable for the growth of quality wheat. It has a continental climate that features low precipitation and warm temperatures when the wheat matures before harvest. As a result, Xinjiang, a region of arid-area irrigation agriculture, boasts an abundance of quality high-protein wheat.
The local government has initiated a plan for the cultivation of quality wheat in northern Xinjiang and the region is striving to become one of the top producers of such crops in China.
(CIIC 11/23/2000)
