Heat wave scorching crops may cut rice, cotton output

Rice and cotton output in China, the world’s biggest producer, may drop this year amid a heat wave across much of the country, according to researcher Shanghai JC Intelligence Co. Hangzhou, Chongqing and Fuzhou provinces across the middle of the country will experience their hottest days so far this year, the Shanghai Daily reported on Tuesday. Rice output along the lower Yangtze River and in southwest China may be threatened by a lack of rain, the official China National Grain and Oils Information Center said in a report.