China reaps 12th consecutive bumper harvest

China, a global leader in agricultural products, reaped a bumper grain harvest for the 12th consecutive year with a 2.4 per cent increase in grain output, the government said today.
The growth followed a 0.9 per cent increase in 2014 and 2.1 per cent rise registered in 2013. Grain output totalled 621.44 million tonnes this year, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.
Yields of major grain crops, including rice, wheat and corn, rose 2.7 per cent year on year to 572.25 million tonnes, the NBS said in a statement.
The government's supportive policies, application of technology and fewer natural disasters this year contributed to the output rise, said Hou Rui, NBS statistician.

It was also a result of increasing acreage for grain crops this year amid measures to re-adjust crop types, Hou said.
Some regions, for example, have cut cotton farming so that more land becomes available for grain crops, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The total size of arable land for grain crops stood at 113.3 million hectares, up 0.5 per cent from one year earlier.
Heilongjiang, Henan and Shandong provinces remained the country's top three grain producers this year.