China's output of early rice sees steady rise

BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's output of early rice rose 0.8 percent year on year to reach 28.34 million tonnes in 2023, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.

The sown area of early rice dropped 0.5 percent from a year earlier to 4.73 million hectares, but the yield per hectare increased 1.2 percent to 5,987 kg per hectare, the bureau said.

"The meteorological conditions were generally conducive to the growth of early rice this year," said Wang Guirong, an official with the bureau.

Amid complex international environment and frequent extreme weather events around the world, China's summer grain and early rice harvest have laid a solid foundation for stable grain production throughout the year, Wang said.