BEIJING, June 11 -- China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec), Asia's largest oil refiner, said it would cut ethylene output to  increase oil production this month to ensure supply for the summer grain harvest.

     The company planned to cut ethylene output by 65,000 tonnes, which would raise oil output by 200,000 tonnes.

     It also decided to cut output of kerosene and gasoline and increase diesel oil output to guarantee supply for summer grain harvest.

     Meanwhile, Sinopec was to speed up final work on the Qingdao refinery project to put it into operation as soon as possible. The  refinery was designed with a processing capacity of 10 million tonnes per year, the largest of its kind in the country.

     The company also planned to import 1 million tonnes of oil  products this month, double the figure it announced earlier.

     Sinopec said it has worked out measures to ensure oil supply for summer harvest operations in provinces of Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi and Shaanxi, major grain producers of China.

     Due to rising domestic demand, fuel shortages were reported in  some areas in the country.

     Sinopec's refined oil supply is expected to rise 18.5 percent year-on-year and its refined oil output by 8.9 percent in the first half  of this year, according to the company.