China sees record summer grain output

Harvesters work in wheat field in Sangyuan Township of Wuqiao county, North China's Hebei province, June 14, 2015. China yielded 141.07 million metric tons of summer crops, up 3.3 percent over last year, according to data released by the National Statistics Bureau on July 15, 2015.[Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - China's summer grain output increased for a 12th consecutive year in 2015 thanks to intensified government support for agriculture and favorable weather, according to new official figures.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement on its website on Wednesday that summer grain production reached a record 141.07 million tons this year, up 3.3 percent, or 4.47 million tons, from that of 2014.

"The bumper harvest came after the central government has continued to intensify their support for grain production and fully capitalize on science and technology," said NBS senior statistician Hou Rui.

The total area for growing summer crops stood at 27.69 million hectares this year, up 0.4 percent from the previous year and adding 548,000 tons to the yield, the bureau said.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, grain production in China has increased by 1.04 tons per hectare in the past decade.

The country has used 9 percent of the world's arable land and 6.5 percent of its fresh water resources to produce a quarter of the world's grain and feed nearly one-fifth of the world's population.