Huang Hui, an official with the Department of the Prevention of Plant Diseases and Pests under the Ministry of Agriculture, said "thorough and comprehensive" measures against locusts have restricted them from flying from half the areas under threat to other regions.

The remaining areas are also under control and no sudden disasters are expected, Huang said.

The insects have plagued 2.7 million hectares of land in 14 provinces and municipalities since last month.

Around 70 percent of the areas are considered as "danger zones" if no immediate action is taken, according to the ministry.

The ministry said seven Yun-5 planes have been used to spread pesticides, with 700 emergency teams and more than 10,000 large sprayers being deployed.

Tens of thousands of ducks have also been released to eat the insects.

The central government has allocated a special fund of 50 million yuan (US$6 million) to help local authorities cope with the locusts.

Huang said the country's anti-locust efforts had proved to be "efficient and effective" so far and no large economic losses were expected as a result of the population explosion of locusts this summer in comparison with previous years.

The campaign is to last until the end of this month, Huang said.

Agricultural experts were quoted yesterday as saying Chinese media had exaggerated the locust problem this year.

A Xinhua News Agency report said the locust problem this year, though "slightly more severe" compared with past years, will not be "disastrous" as time was available for most locusts to be killed before they are able to fly.

Wu Fuhai, an anti-locust expert in North China's Tianjin Municipality, one of the hardest hit, said 80 percent of the insect larvae had been killed using chemicals and there was little chance of them flying to the capital in mass groups.

According to Wu, the density of the insects has decreased from 5,000 per square meter to less than 1,000 after pesticides were used.

(China Daily June 18, 2002)