(Yicai Global) July 26 -- Record rainfall in central Henan province, one of China’s main agricultural heartlands, has affected a large swathe of farmland but only 10 percent of this has been badly hit and the summer harvest is safely stored away, according to industry insiders.

The rains have drenched 705,000 hectares of planted maize, peanuts, soybeans and other grains, around 9 percent of the country’s total autumn crops, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Of this, 3 percent was destroyed.

Henan produced 6.15 percent of China’s total autumn harvest last year at 30.72 million tons and is one of the country’s top five maize producers.

Maize is in a critical growth period and needs a lot of water, so the downpours will ensure the healthy growth of seedlings over the next month and will raise yields so long as they are not damaged by the rains, an industry insider told Yicai Global.

Standing, stagnant water needs to removed within two to three days to prevent the maize from drowning, said Lin Guofa, research director of the agricultural product procurement website 16988.com.

The impact on the province’s peanut production is likely to be limited as the main peanut growing areas were not flooded, the insider said.

Thankfully, the summer harvest has already been completed and the grains stored in depots ahead of the heavy rainfall. Only those with poor storage conditions would have been affected, he added.

Grain storage, especially reserve depots, have excellent drainage facilities, so they should not be affected by high water levels, said Lin.

The market does not appear too concerned about the impact of the heavy rains on crops. Maize and peanut futures opened higher on July 21 and 22.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor