Government forecasts bumper grain harvest

China's total area under wheat cultivation has remained steady for the past five years at 24 million to 25 million ha. The country enlarged winter wheat production areas in the North China Plain and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region last year to ensure sufficient stocks of staple grains.

"Based on current information, China's summer grain output will remain at a high level and winter wheat yields will see the 11th consecutive year of growth," said Wang.

Wang said the growth rate and output of winter wheat this year are much higher than that of last year. The stable growth in wheat imports are essential for China to keep flour and other wheat-related food prices stable.

With a total cultivated area of 27.59 million hectares, the output of China's summer grain crops totaled 131.89 million metric tons in 2013, up 1.5 percent on a year-on-year basis.

During the same period, winter wheat output reached 115.67 million metric tons, a 1.3 percent gain from a year earlier, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics.

Ding Shengjun, a senior researcher at the Academy of the State Administration of Grain, said summer grain output accounts for about 25 percent of China's total grain yields for the full year, and provide a solid foundation for the full-year grain harvest.

"However, China still faces a range of challenges to ensure growth in autumn grain yields, including extreme weather conditions, declining farmland quality in certain areas and water shortage," said Ding.

To prevent losses from plant diseases, grasshoppers and unfavorable weather in the coming months, the Ministry of Agriculture has urged that all the harvest-related work on winter wheat should be completed within this week, and its encouraging major production areas to accelerate the harvest pace by using more agricultural machinery.

Wheatharvestseason in China	China to continue grain imports