China's quarantine authorities blocked 1,632 alien invasive species on 29,311 occasions from entering the country in the first six months of 2004, the State Administration of Quality Supervision and Quarantine said on Monday.

The number of species was up 9.5 percent and the number of occasions up 27.8 percent from the same period in 2003.

The administration reported that 57.9 percent of the intercepted species were insects, 22.4 percent weeds, 10.5 percent epiphytes -- "piggyback" plants such as mosses and lichens -- and 8.3 percent eelworms.

Most of the intercepted species came from the United States, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand and India, and were mainly carried in wood, wooden packaging, soybean and fruits.

"We will enhance quality supervision and quarantine work to prevent the entrance of pests and detrimental materials," said a senior official with the administration.

(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2004)