Photo taken on Oct. 12, 2021 shows a farmer harvesting rice in Yongji County of Jilin City, northeast China's Jilin Province. Jilin recorded a bumper grain harvest, with the total grain output reaching 40.39 million tonnes this year, up more than 2.36 million tonnes year on year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.(Photo: Xinhua)

The supply of food in the Chinese market is guaranteed and grain reserves are at record highs, enhancing China's capacity to ensure food security, said the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration.

As of Sunday, enterprises in major grain producing areas of China had purchased a total of 152.35 million tons of autumn grain, including rice, soybean and corn, up 17.1 million tons from 2021, Qin Yuyun, spokesperson for the administration, said on Friday during a press briefing.

Purchases of indica rice reached 27.1 million tons, an increase of 5.4 percent year-on-year. 

Purchases of japonica rice totaled 37.5 million tons, up 10.5 percent, while corn purchases increased 16.7 percent to 85.75 million tons. Soybean purchases remained basically flat at 2 million tons, according to Qin.

Qin said that China's grain stocks are at a record level. Stocks of wheat and rice, two major grain varieties, account for more than 70 percent of the total grain stocks, ensuring grain security. Corn stocks are up nearly 10 percent on a yearly basis.

China has sufficient grain supply for domestic market consumption, said the administration.

In 2021, China's total grain output was 682.85 million tons, an increase of 13.36 million tons or 2.0 percent over 2020 and a new record high. Rice output reached 212.84 million tons, up 0.5 percent year-on-year, wheat output was 136.95 million tons, up 2.0 percent, and corn output increased 4.6 percent to 272.55 million tons, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In addition, China imported 164.5 million tons of grain in 2021, an increase of 18 percent year-on-year, the NBS said. The total grain imports are equivalent to 24 percent of China's output.

More than 36 million tons of grain were imported in the fourth quarter, a considerable part of which will toward supplies for 2022, said the food administration.

In general, the domestic grain market is well supplied and stable, thanks to effective policies and measures. There is a solid foundation and favorable conditions for maintaining the smooth operation of the grain market, according to the administration.

The No.1 central document released on Tuesday gave top priority to grain production and the supply of important agricultural products, stressing that the acreage for grain cultivation should remain stable and that grain output should be kept at over 650 million metric tons.