China's output of early rice rose by 0.8 percent year on year to reach 28.34 million tonnes in 2023, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)said Wednesday.
The sown area of early rice dropped by 0.5 percent from a year earlier to 4.73 million hectares, but the yield per hectare increased by 1.2 percent to 5,987 kilograms per hectare, the NBS said.
Riped early rice. /CFP
"The meteorological conditions were generally conducive to the growth of early rice this year," said Wang Guirong, an official with the NBS.
Amid a complex international environment and frequent extreme weather 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.
Early rice crops grow mainly in provinces along the Yangtze River and in southern areas. It is planted from February to April and harvested in June and July.
(With input from Xinhua)
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