China's grain output expected to remain stable: report

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- China's grain output is expected to maintain stable growth this year, building upon earlier gains, a report said Wednesday.

Grain output is expected to reach 688 million tonnes in 2022 thanks to the country's preferential policies, according to a report released at the 2022 China Agricultural Outlook Conference sponsored by the Agricultural Information Institute under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

It is projected that the output of rice, wheat and corn, China's three major crops, will remain steady, while soybean output will increase by 25.8 percent and oil output is forecasted to rise by 1.9 percent, the report said.

However, consumption growth of grain, meat, cotton and sugar is expected to slow as the impact of COVID-19 on the economy continues to linger in the short term, it said.