China to 'maintain self-sufficiency in food production'

Despite an expected increase in the country's food imports, China will maintain self-sufficiency in its main food crops, including wheat and rice, in the coming decade, said an agricultural report released on Sunday.

The report, China Agricultural Outlook 2014-23, released by the Agricultural Information Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, predicts that China's annual output of three main crops - wheat, rice and corn - will hit 578 million metric tons in 2023, still keeping a high self-sufficiency rate.

By then, about 596 million tons of crops will be needed to feed the nation, data from the report showed. The United Nations has forecast that China's population will reach 1.4 billion by 2023.