THE country was finding it increasingly hard to balance its grain supply and demand and would have to depend on imports for edible oil in the foreseeable future, the head of the State Grain Administration said in remarks published yesterday.

"We now have less room to increase acreage planted with grain and it's becoming more and more difficult to steadily raise yields," said Nie Zhenbang, citing shrinking arable lands and water shortages.

"It is increasingly difficult now to maintain the domestic grain market and price stability," he said in the People?ˉs Daily.

International grain prices have risen to record highs, boosted by drought, higher production costs and futures investors?ˉ expectations that China will have to import a lot more grain at some point in the future.

Nie also said that fast expanding demand had made China increasingly dependent on imports of edible oil. "It is impossible to reverse the trend in the short term that we are more and more dependent on external supplies," he said.(SD-Agencies)