File photo:Xinhua

China secured another bumper harvest in 2021, with grain output reaching 1,365.7 billion jin (682.85 billion kilograms), a record high, data from China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs showed Thursday.

This is the seventh consecutive year that the country's total grain production has exceeded 650 billion kilograms.

The bumper harvest came despite extreme regional weather conditions, including flood and periodical droughts as well as pest-related damage in some areas, Zeng Yande, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said during a press conference on Thursday.

The 2021 harvest, the first year in which China comprehensively pushed forward rural vitalization and accelerated the modernization of agriculture and rural areas, has played an important role in opening a new chapter and stabilizing the overall situation. With the keyword "stability" defining policy direction, the ministry will adhere to the two bottom lines of ensuring national food security and preventing a large-scale return to poverty, according to the official.

To ensure stable grain output, China has taken a host of measures last year such as issuing subsidies to cushion farmers from the effect of price hikes of agricultural supplies and ramping up disaster control.

The sown area of grain was 1.764 billion mu (117.6 million hectares) in 2021, an increase of 12.95 million mu over the previous year. Hog production also fully recovered. By the end of 2021, there will be 43.29 million breeding hogs in the country, and the production capacity will return to a reasonable level. Annual pork output stood at 52.96 million tons in 2021, up 28.8 percent over the previous year, in line with historical normal levels, according to the ministry.

In terms of vegetable and fruit production, it is estimated that the annual vegetable area was 320 million mu in 2021, churning out 750 million tons of produce, while fruit output exceeded 290 million tons, guaranteeing market supply.

At present, the total national vegetable growing area is about 80 million mu, an increase of more than two million mu year-on-year. It is estimated that the total vegetable supply in the next three months will be 170 million tons, up 3.5 million tons year-on-year. In addition to winter vegetables, the combined supply is equal to about 3 jin per person per day, said Tang Ke, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. "However, due to the rising prices of gasoline and diesel, in addition to seasonal factors, vegetable prices are expected to remain robust."

"Looking at the overall situation, the total supply of meat, eggs, milk, fruit, vegetables and fish is sufficient, and can fully meet the consumption needs of urban and rural residents during the upcoming Spring Festival holidays, and, Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games," Tang noted.