China likely to reap bumper harvest of summer grains

ZHENGZHOU - China is likely to mark its tenth consecutive year of reaping a bumper harvest of summer grain crops in 2013, the country's minister of agriculture said Monday.

Han Changfu, the minister, made the remarks while observing harvest activities in Zhumadian in Central China's Henan province.

About 80 percent of summer grain crops have been harvested in southwestern China, and most wheat is ripe in regions along the Yellow, Huaihe and Haihe rivers, Han said.

If no serious natural disasters affect the crops, the country is likely to reap a bumper harvest, he said.

The acreage for summer grain crops topped 415 million mu (27.67 million hectares) this year, up 700,000 mu from last year, Han said.

The country's summer grain crops, which mostly include wheat and early-season rice, usually account for about 20 percent of its annual grain output, while autumn grain crops, which mostly include corn and middle- and late-season rice, account for about 80 percent.

China's summer grain output hit 129.95 million tonnes in 2012, up 2.8 percent from the previous year. The country's total grain output rose 3.2 percent year on year to a record-high 590 million tonnes in 2012.