China expects bumper summer grain harvest

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China is expected to see a bumper harvest for summer crops this year, with nearly 80 percent of the crops already harvested, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Wednesday.

The total area for growing summer crops remain stable at around 26.7 million hectares this year, while the average output from each hectare of wheat, the main summer crop, is expected to rise, the ministry said.

The good harvest is due to various factors including favorable wheat price policies, technological support to increase per unit area yield, as well as effective disaster-control measures, the ministry said.

China's summer grain output stood at 138.72 million tonnes in 2018, down 2.2 percent from 2017.