BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- China has secured a bumper summer grain harvest in 2026 with total output topping 150 million tonnes for the first time, a milestone achieved despite challenges such as late sowing and unfavorable weather conditions.
The country's summer grain output totaled 150.75 million tonnes this year, up 0.7 percent or 1 million tonnes year on year, according to a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Wheat output reached 138.95 million tonnes, up 0.6 percent year on year. Winter wheat, the main component of summer grain, accounted for 136.54 million tonnes, up 0.8 percent. Among the 25 summer grain-producing provinces, 22 achieved increased output, NBS data showed.
China's summer grain sown area remained basically stable by standing at 26.53 million hectares, slightly down 0.2 percent from last year. Of them, over 23 million hectares of wheat were sown, down 0.3 percent year on year.
The output per hectare reached 5,681.6 kilograms, an increase of 0.8 percent from last year, according to the bureau.
NBS official Wei Fenghua said that despite widespread late sowing of winter wheat in the Huang-Huai-Hai region due to prolonged rainy weather last autumn, conditions turned generally favorable after the wheat entered the wintering period, with warmer temperatures, adequate rainfall, while pest and disease control measures were effectively implemented.
Wei attributed the stability of sown area partly to policy support, including stable minimum purchase prices for wheat, farmland protection subsidies, enhanced agricultural insurance and an inter-provincial compensation mechanism for grain-producing areas, which helped motivate both farmers and local governments to prioritize grain production.
To address the late sowing, local authorities increased seeding rates and improved planting quality to ensure sufficient basic seedlings, Wei said.
The central government allocated 1.25 billion yuan (about 183.85 million U.S. dollars) in special funds to support 11 winter wheat-producing provinces in promoting the transformation of weak seedlings into robust ones.
On the ground, AI and Internet of Things technologies are deeply embedded across agricultural production chains. In Zouping, east China's Shandong Province, unmanned harvesters operate in smart farms.
In Zhoukou, central province of Henan, real-time data covering location, operational status and trajectories on connected harvesters is dynamically updated on cloud platforms, making regional machinery supply-demand gaps visible at a glance.
Multi-agency coordination also proved crucial. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs organized harvest preparations and, together with transport, public security and meteorological departments, ensured smooth harvester deployment.
During this year's summer harvest season, the country's supply and marketing cooperatives planned procurement of 27 million tonnes of fertilizer and mobilized 16,000 agricultural service centers and over 60,000 crop hospitals for integrated services, including soil testing and unified pest control, the latest data showed.
Wei said the country's southern areas largely completed harvesting before the rains in May and early June, while timely rainfall in northern wheat-producing regions during the grain-filling stage effectively replenished soil moisture and boosted yields, particularly for dryland wheat.
"Overcoming challenges such as widespread late sowing of winter wheat and heavy rainfall in some areas, the bumper summer grain harvest lays a solid foundation for stable grain production throughout the year," Wei said. ■
