July 15, 2014

China's summer grain output hits record high in 2014

China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said that the country's summer grain output increased 3.6% on-year and reached a record high of 136.60 million tonnes in 2014, China News Service reported.

NBS also said that total planting area for summer grain crops edged up 0.1% from last year to 27.6 million hectares.

China's summer grain crops, which mainly consist of wheat and early-season rice, account for about 20% of its annual grain output. Autumn grain crops, which include corn and middle- and late-season rice, account for the remaining 80%.

Senior analyst at NBS, Huang Jiacai, said that a higher per-unit yield of wheat this year is a result of very favourable climate conditions for production.

The bumper harvest of summer grain is expected to help ease concerns about China's ability to feed a huge population of 1.3 billion. In recent years, the country has seen increases in grain imports. Last year, cereal imports rose to more than 14 million tonnes.

The Chinese government stipulates that total arable farming acreage shall never shrink below 120 million hectares. So far, the country is about 97% self-sufficient in grain production.