China's agriculture and rural economy shows robust growth in H1

China's agriculture and rural economy showed robust growth in the first half of this year, laying a solid foundation for annual stable grain production, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Thursday.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the country's summer grain output reached 149.7 million metric tons, the second-highest on record after last year. Despite localized droughts, the country achieved steady summer harvests, according to Vice-Minister Maierdan Mugaiti.

Meanwhile, the sown area for autumn crops has slightly increased, and crop conditions remain better than average. Summer oilseed production will see a triple boost in acreage, yield, and total output, Maierdan said.

In the first six months, total meat output from pigs, cattle, sheep, and poultry rose to 48.43 million tons, increasing 2.8 percent year-on-year. Milk production rose 0.5 percent to 18.64 million tons.

Vegetable and fruit supplies remained stable and diverse, while regular quality inspections showed a 97.9 percent pass rate for agricultural product safety.

Efforts to support cattle and dairy farmers, such as optimizing production practices and boosting consumption, helped many producers return to profitability. The price of raw milk has begun to stabilize, Maierdan said.

At the end of June, the number of breeding sows stood at 40.43 million, down from the recent peak to maintain profitable hog farming.

According to the NBS, per capita disposable income in rural areas reached 11,936 yuan ($1662.68) in the first half of the year, seeing an inflation-adjusted increase of 6.2 percent and outpacing urban income growth.

Rural retail sales of consumer goods climbed to 3.24 trillion yuan, up 4.9 percent year-on-year, Maierdan added.

Rural infrastructure projects continued to expand, with over 300,000 new projects added to the national rural construction database and more than 100 billion yuan in funding secured.

"These projects have improved basic public infrastructure and the rural living environment," Maierdan said.