BEIJING, China (Reuters) — China’s total grain production reached a record of more than 700 million tonnes in 2024 as Beijing moves to boost output in its quest to achieve food security.
The year’s output in the world’s largest importer of grain stood at 706.5 million tonnes following larger harvests of rice, wheat and corn, said Wei Fenghua, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics’ rural department.
That was 1.6 per cent higher than 2023’s harvest of 695.41 million tonnes, bureau data showed.
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The yield estimates for wheat and soybeans were neutral to bullish, but these were largely a sideshow when compared with corn.
“The year’s grain harvest was again bountiful,” Wei said, after China’s regions and authorities strictly adopted the tasks of farmland protection and food security while overcoming the adverse effects of natural disasters.
China is highly reliant on imports to feed its population of 1.4 billion.
In recent years, China has stepped up investments in farm machinery and seed technology in an effort to ensure food security.
Rice production in 2024 rose to 207.5 million tonnes, up 0.5 per cent on the year, while wheat output grew 2.6 per cent to 140.1 million tonnes, the data showed.
Corn saw a bigger jump at a record 294.92 million tonnes, up 2.1 per cent from the previous year. Soybeans fell 0.9 per cent to 20.65 million tonnes.
The bumper harvest was attributed to larger plantings of rice and corn, on top of better yields of rice, wheat and corn.
National sown area of grain was about 294.9 million acres, an increase of 0.3 per cent from the previous year in a fifth consecutive year of expansion, Wei said.
Planting size for rice rose for the first time in four years, expanding 0.2 per cent on the year to 71.66 million acres. Corn planting was also 1.2 per cent higher at 110.54 million acres.
Soybean planting size shrank 1.4 per cent to 25.53 million acres. Wheat planting size also declined 0.2 per cent to 58.32 million acres.
Despite the increasing production, China remains dependent on imported supplies of soybean and corn, its agriculture ministry has said.
