July 16, 2015
2015 a record year for China's summer crop
China's summer grain output increased for the 12th consecutive year in 2015 due to good weather and government support for agriculture, according to latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Summer grain production reached a record 141.07 million tonnes this year, up 3.3%, or 4.47 million tonnes, from 2014.
"The bumper harvest came after the central government has continued to intensify their support for grain production and fully capitalise on science and technology," said NBS senior statistician Hou Rui.
Total farm area for summer crops stood at 27.69 million hectares this year, up 0.4% from the previous year.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, grain production in China has increased by 1.04 tonnes per hectare in the past decade.
The country has used 9% of the world's arable land and 6.5% of its fresh water resources to produce a quarter of the world's grain.