China's grain output totaled about 686.5 billion kilograms this year, up 0.5 percent or 3.68 billion kg over 2021, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.

This is the eighth consecutive year China has registered a grain harvest of over 650 billion kg.

Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, known as the country's "grain barn," produced about 77.63 billion kg of grain in 2022, accounting for 11.3 percent of the country's total, official data showed.

The figures show that the province has maintained its annual grain output at over 75 billion kg for five years. In addition, its annual grain output has ranked first in the country for 13 consecutive years, according to the NBS.

Heilongjiang's grain output this year was its second-highest in history, but lower than last year due to a significant increase in its low-yielding soybean area and the adjustment of its grain-growing structure.

Heilongjiang is the largest soybean-producing area in China, with its soybean planting area accounting for more than 40 percent of the country's total. This year, it will expand its soybean planting area by more than 10 million mu (about 666,667 hectares).

North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China's other major grain-producing region, this year reported a record-high annual grain output of over 39 billion kg, up 600 million kg from last year, according to the regional agriculture and animal husbandry department.

The region has maintained an annual grain output of above 37.5 billion kg for five consecutive years.

Its output of major food crops such as corn, soybeans and potatoes ranks among the top in China.

In 2022, the region saw a stable expansion of its grain cultivation area, which climbed to more than 104 million mu, and its average crop yield per area unit also grew.

(Source: Xinhua with edits)