An agricultural machinery operator drives a harvester at a farm in Bozhou, East China's Anhui Province on May 27, 2022. Photo: VCG

China reaped another bumper summer harvest in 2022, the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday, citing a summer grain's output of 147.39 million tons, an increase of 1 percent than previous year.

Despite rising agriculture prices and sporadic epidemic flare-ups, and the late sowing of winter wheat, China's summer grain output has reached an all-time high, NBS said.

This has laid a solid foundation for ensuring the total grain output this year, and provided solid support to cope with the uncertainty of the external environment, the NBS said.

The planting area of summer grain recorded a slight increase of 0.3 percent year-on-year, maintaining growth for two consecutive years.

The NBS said the growing of planting area is due efforts such as raising the minimum purchase price of wheat to stabilize farmers' grain subsidies, stabilizing the sown area of winter wheat and expanding the spring wheat planting area. 

The national summer grain yield was 5,555.6 kg/hectare, an increase of 0.6 percent over the previous year.

China's food security situation is relatively strong, and it has the ability, confidence and conditions to deal with external shocks and maintain a stable "Chinese rice bowl," said Zhang Guohua, an official from National Development and Reform Commission on Thursday. 

He said the grain output reached 680 million tons in 2021, an increase of nearly 100 million tons compared with 10 years ago, and it has remained above 650 million tons for seven consecutive years, and the per capita grain possession stood at a high of 483 kilograms.

Compared with the "roller coaster" type of violent fluctuations seen in international grain prices, the domestic grain market has remained stable, and the range of price fluctuations is far lower than that of the international market, Zhang said. 

He added China's grain distribution system is safe and reliable, grain storage facilities have generally reached levels equivalent to developed nations, the situation for emergency supply outlets has been gradually improved, which makes the emergency response capabilities further enhanced.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged efforts to ensure grain security and energy supply to maintain the stability of the economy and prices. Li made the re-marks during an inspection tour in north China's Hebei Province in June. 

The sufficient supply of grain serves as an anchor for price stability, Li said, noting that China's bumper wheat harvest not only satisfies its own domestic needs but also contributes to the stability of the international grain market.

Traditionally, the summer harvest spans from May to late June, with grain output in the period taking up about a quarter of the annual total.

Global Times