Guangdong has also signed a number of cooperative agreements with other provinces to import further grain, the administration said.

Last year, the province produced 12.85 million tons of grain and bought 25 million tons.

Guangdong has very limited cultivated land for grain, Cheng Ganrong, a publicity official with the province's agricultural department, said.

The province, which mainly focuses on industry, has just 2 million hectares of cultivated land, he said.

"The situation this year is very similar to the ones we have faced in the past," Cheng said.

"Our reserevs are sufficient and the price is stable.

"It is not necessary for people to hoard grain," he said.

Last month, the price of a 50-kg bag of rice, wheat or corn was between 75.90 yuan ($10.80) and 86.90 yuan, up about 4 percent on equivalent prices in October.

Li Min, vice-director of the grain administration, said: "The increase in price is encouraging more farmers to plant rice in the province."

(China Daily April 15, 2008)