BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- For quake-shocked Chinese, perhaps no news is more inspiring than an anticipated good summer grain harvest.

　　PRODUCTION NOT AFFECTED

　　"If no severe disastrous weather conditions develop, the unit production of the nation's summer grain harvest will hit a record high with the total output rising for a fifth consecutive year," Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai has said.

　　The expected good harvest will apparently add to China's grain reserves, which, including this year's output, was considered "more than enough to feed its people" by Zeng Liying, State Administration of Grain deputy director.

　　"China's grain supply will not be affected as most of the quake-stricken areas are mountainous and unplantable," said Wan Fushi, an official with the Crop Production Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, following the the magnitude-8 quake that jolted southwestern Sichuan Province two weeks ago.

　　Amid a global grain supply shortage, the message could be more than a relief for China's toughest after-quake reconstruction since 1976.

　　RISING FOOD PRICES

　　The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations said last week that the food price index had remained stable since February, but the average of the first four months was still 53 percent higher when compared to the same period a year ago.

　　"Food is no longer the cheap commodity that it once was. Rising food prices are bound to worsen the already unacceptable level of food deprivation suffered by 854 million people," said FAO Assistant Director-General Hafez Ghanem.

　　The FAO's latest forecast for world cereal production in 2008 points to a record output, now at nearly 2.192 billion tons, including milled rice, up 3.8 percent from 2007.

　　Commodity analysts, however, estimated that voracious global demand would consume all the increase and prevent governments from replenishing cereal stocks that are at their lowest level in three decades, according to a report by the U.S. World watch Institute.

　　Driven by food price rises, China's CPI, the main inflation indicator, rose 8.5 percent year-on-year in April, compared with 8.3 percent in March and a nearly 12-year high of 8.7 percent in February.

　　CHINA, A KEY REFERENCE

　　In China, summer grain usually takes up about 23 percent of the nation's annual grain output. Last year, the nation produced more than 500 million tons of grain.

　　The government has identified "protecting grain security" as a top priority on its agenda, which has been marked by increasing allotments of agriculture-supportive funds since 2004.

　　In the beginning of 2008, the State Council, the country's cabinet, approved 95.063 billion yuan (13.6 billion U.S. dollars) in subsidies for farmers. Those who grow wheat and oilseeds each received 1 billion yuan.

　　Last year, the government allocated a record 562.5 billion yuan to boost agricultural production.

　　A State Administration of Grain official said earlier that China's ratio of reserves to consumption was much higher than the 17-18 percent level regarded by the FAO as a safe minimum for global stocks.

　　The nation has grain reserves of 150 to 200 million tons, a Ministry of Agriculture official said.

　　But the minister admitted maintaining near self-sufficiency in grain would become harder as people would demand more diversified and higher-quality grain products.

　　"China's grain consumption is huge, so prices in the Chinese market are key references for global grain price estimations. Prices fluctuations here would lead to continued price volatility in the global market." said Cheng Guoqiang, a researcher with the cabinet.