July 12, 2011

China's 2011 summer grain output grows 2.5%

China's 2011 summer grain production reached 126.27 million tonnes, up 3.12 million tonnes or 2.5% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday (Jul 11).

The rise will help ease grain supply concerns in the world's most populous country and stabilise food prices, after the consumer price index hit three-year high of 6.4% in June, mainly led by soaring food prices.

Winter wheat output rose for the eighth consecutive year in 2011 to 110.79 million tonnes, up 2.12 million tonnes from last year, it said. Per-hectare wheat output rose 1.6% from a year earlier to 4.9 tonnes.

Summer grain output accounts for around a quarter of the nation's total grain output. The majority of China's grain output is summer grain, including corn, rice and soy.

The government is "confident" of a good grain harvest this year, despite unfavourable weather, but it is not clear whether China can increase grain output for the eighth consecutive year, the state-run China Daily reported last week.

"We have achieved a marvelous harvest for the first half of this year," said Chen Xiwen, general director of the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group. "Everything now depends on the autumn crop."

China's grain output rose 2.9% to 546.4 million tonnes last year, marking the seventh consecutive year of growth.