China to make all-out efforts to ensure autumn harvest: official

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- China will make all-out efforts to secure a bumper autumn harvest and ensure that the grain output for 2022 stays above 650 billion kg, an agricultural official said Thursday.

Efforts will be made to strengthen farmland management, and enhance preparedness against weather-related disasters, plant diseases and pests, to secure a good autumn harvest, Pan Wenbo, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said at a press conference.

The planting area of the autumn grain has seen steady expansion this year, laying a solid foundation for a bumper harvest, Pan said.

Official data shows that the country's total grain output increased 1 percent year on year to 147.39 million tonnes in this year's summer harvest, with the planting area and output per hectare of summer grains both seeing expansion.

The summer grain harvest has provided solid support for the country in keeping the price stable and stabilizing economic growth, Pan noted.

China aims to ensure that the full-year grain output in 2022 stays above 650 billion kg, according to this year's government work report.