A harvester shuttles through wheat fields in Qingzhou city, East China's Shandong Province, June 7, 2022. Photo: Xinhua

The summer grain purchase and the early rice season this year had been completed successfully by the end of September, China's National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration said on Tuesday. The overall progress of the summer grain purchase this year was faster than last year, with good quality, stable prices, and more flexible purchase channels.

By the end of September, the country had acquired a total of 58.84 million tons of wheat in its main production areas, an increase of 930,000 tons year-on-year, and 6.28 million tons of early rice, an increase of 410,000 tons, CCTV reported.

Qin Yuyin, spokesperson for the administration, said that the wheat market this year is particularly strong with higher prices, and farmers have seen good returns.

The autumn grain purchase is also being carried out nationwide from south to north.

As the progress of autumn grain harvesting accelerates, the new season of autumn grain will hit the market soon, authorities said, noting that the current purchase price of ordinary varieties of medium and late rice in the main production areas is about 1.29 yuan ($0.18) per jin (0.5 kilograms), which is roughly equivalent to the price in previous years.

Despite the unprecedented heat and drought that plagued the south of the country this summer, China's autumn harvest is in full swing, with several major grain production areas seeing a significant increase.

Experts said that while parts of the country had been affected by the extreme weather, China will still see a bumper harvest this year thanks to the application of more advanced agricultural technologies and timely policy adjustments and incentives. At a time when global food security is in disarray, maintaining stable grain production is a major contribution that China has made to the world, they noted.

"The varieties being put on the market are mainly southern mid- to late-season rice, and the main production areas have accumulated more than 5 million tons of rice, with the acquisition progress faster than the previous year," Qin said.