Factbox: Highlights of China's agricultural, rural development

BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- China saw notable progress in agricultural and rural reform and development in 2021. The following are key facts and figures provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs at a press conference on Thursday.

-- Grain output hit a new high of 683 billion kilograms, with grain farmland exceeding 1.76 billion mu (about 117.3 million hectares).

-- Live pig production fully recovered in 2021, with stocks of breeding sows reaching 43.29 million.

-- Pork production stood at 52.96 million tonnes, up 28.8 percent year on year, basically matching the level of a normal year.

-- The output of beef and mutton grew by 4.1 percent, the output of milk by 7.1 percent, and the output of aquatic products by more than 2 percent.

-- Vegetable production was expected to stand at 750 million tonnes, and fruit production at 290 million tonnes.

-- Newly built high-standard farmlands totaled 105 million mu, and conservation tillage was carried out on 72 million mu of black soil in northeast China.

-- The overall mechanization rate of crop cultivation and harvesting was expected to exceed 72 percent.

-- The per capita disposable income of rural residents reached 18,931 yuan (about 2,981.96 U.S. dollars), an increase of 9.7 percent in real terms.

-- Fixed-asset investment in the primary industry in rural areas stood at nearly 1.43 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.1 percent year on year.

-- International trade in agricultural products grew rapidly, with total imports and exports reaching 304.17 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 23.2 percent from the 2020 level.