China has, once again, raised hopes for its corn harvest, saying that drought has wrought less damage than signalled by analysts forecasting huge cuts in output.

Grain output in China's three major corn and soybean provinces - Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning - will not fall more than 4% this year, Zhang Guobao, a senior official in the country's top economic planning body, told reporters.

"Despite a severe drought this year in the northeast, grain output there would still be at a comparatively high level," said Mr Zhang, who is deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission.

He failed to give a breakdown of the forecast.

Differing opinions 

The estimate is the latest in a series of relatively upbeat forecasts from Chinese officials.

The US Department of Agriculture has pegged the crop at 160m tonnes, noting "unusual heat and dryness", with JC Intelligence, a Shanghai-based analysis group, estimating the harvest at 146m tonnes.

If true, the lower forecast could restore China to the ranks of corn importers, some analysts believe.