Xinhua Finance, Beijing, July 10 (Xinhua) – The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released data on the 2026 summer grain output on the 10th. In this regard, Wei Fenghua, Director of the Department of Rural Statistics at the NBS, stated that since the beginning of this year, all regions and relevant departments have strictly implemented the Party and government responsibilities for food security, and have consolidated and fulfilled the responsibilities for grain production. Overcoming adverse factors such as the large-scale late sowing of winter wheat in the Huang-Huaihai region and heavy rainfall in some areas, the country has achieved a bumper summer grain harvest. In 2026, the sown area of summer grain across the country remained basically stable, and the per unit yield increased steadily. The output of summer grain reached 301.49 billion jin (One Jin=500g), breaking the 300-billion-jin mark for the first time, an increase of 2 billion jin (One Jin=500g) or 0.7% over the previous year.

Basic Stability in Summer Grain Sown Area

In 2026, the national summer grain sown area reached 398 million mu (one mu=667sqm), a decrease of 690,000 mu (one mu=667sqm) or 0.2% from the previous year, remaining basically stable. By variety, the sown area of wheat was 345 million mu (one mu=667sqm), a decrease of 998,000 mu (one mu=667sqm) or 0.3%. Among this, the sown area of winter wheat was 338 million mu (one mu=667sqm), a decrease of 325,000 mu (one mu=667sqm) or 0.1%. By region, among the 25 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) with summer grain production, 19 saw an increase in sown area, with Anhui, Sichuan and Hebei increasing by 211,000 mu (one mu=667sqm), 137,000 mu (one mu=667sqm) and 113,000 mu (one mu=667sqm) respectively. In some western regions, the planting structure of summer and autumn crops continued to be adjusted, leading to a slight reduction in the summer grain sown area. Among them, Xinjiang, Gansu and Yunnan recorded decreases of 1.176 million mu (one mu=667sqm), 326,000 mu (one mu=667sqm) and 144,000 mu (one mu=667sqm) respectively.

The main reasons for the basically stable sown area of summer grain are as follows: First, production responsibilities have been fully consolidated. All regions have strictly implemented the requirement that Party committees and governments at all levels bear equal responsibility for food security, strengthened the protection of cultivated land and the improvement of its quality, promoted the construction of high-standard farmland with high quality, continuously carried out the rectification of the "non-grain cultivation" of cultivated land and the reclamation and utilization of abandoned farmland, and stabilized the sown area of summer grain by taking measures such as increasing the development and utilization of winter fallow fields and optimizing the planting structure. Second, policy support has been positive and favorable. The state has strengthened the support and coordination of policies such as prices, subsidies and insurance, stabilized the policies of the minimum purchase price for wheat and the subsidy for cultivated land fertility protection, strengthened insurance protection, implemented the inter-provincial horizontal interest compensation policies for grain production and sales areas, and fully mobilized the enthusiasm of farmers to grow grain and local governments to pay close attention to grain production. Third, efforts have been made to ensure that winter wheat is sown in all suitable areas. Winter wheat is the main part of summer grain. Faced with the adverse situation that the continuous rainy weather in the Huang-Huai River region in the autumn of the previous year led to a large-scale delay in the sowing period of winter wheat, the central finance arranged special funds in a timely manner to support the rush harvest and rush sowing. All regions actively drained the field waterlogged area, and carried out rush harvest and rush sowing simultaneously. They implemented the techniques of sowing under wet conditions and late-sowing contingency measures, and winter wheat basically achieved full sowing in all suitable areas, laying a solid foundation for summer grain production.

Summer Grain Yield Per Unit Area Rises Steadily

In 2026, the national per 667sqm yield of summer grain was 378.8 kilograms, an increase of 3.2 kilograms or 0.8% from the previous year. By variety, the per 667sqm yield of wheat was 402.6 kilograms, an increase of 3.4 kilograms or 0.9%. Among them, the per 667sqm yield of winter wheat was 403.5 kilograms, an increase of 3.6 kilograms or 0.9%. By region, Shaanxi, Jiangsu and Henan saw a decline in per 667sqm yield due to drought last year, and achieved a restorative increase in production this year, with per 667sqm yield increasing by 14.2 kilograms, 5.8 kilograms and 3.0 kilograms respectively. Shanxi, Hebei, Sichuan, Shandong and Anhui saw per 667sqm yield increase by 5.3 kilograms, 2.4 kilograms, 2.2 kilograms, 1.7 kilograms and 1.5 kilograms respectively. Hubei experienced a 2.2-kilogram decrease in per 667sqm yield due to heavy rainfall.

The main reasons for the steady increase in the per unit yield of summer grain are as follows: First, the meteorological conditions were generally favorable. Although the Huang-Huai-Hai region and other areas were affected by continuous rainy weather in the previous year, leading to large-scale late sowing of winter wheat, after entering the overwintering period, the meteorological conditions in the main wheat-producing areas were generally good with high temperatures and sufficient precipitation. No large-scale disasters such as spring droughts, "late spring coldness" and "dry hot wind" occurred. The pest and disease prevention and control measures were implemented in all regions, and the occurrence of pests and diseases was mild, which was conducive to wheat growth and yield formation. Second, the efforts to promote weak seedlings to turn into strong ones were effective and efficient. To cope with the large-area late sowing of winter wheat, all regions generally increased the seeding rate, improved the sowing quality, and ensured sufficient basic seedlings. The central government allocated funds for "one spray for three preventions" and pest and disease control in advance, and made overall arrangements for subsidies to promote weak seedlings to turn into strong ones, supporting all regions in implementing key technical measures such as moving forward fertilizer and water application, and suppressing and cultivating. The seedling situation of wheat continued to improve and turn for the better. Third, the impact of rainfall was generally controllable. From mid-to-late May to early June, large-scale rainfall occurred in many parts of the north and south, with heavy rainfall in some areas such as Hubei, and wheat lodging occurred in some local plots. All regions actively took remedial and emergency harvesting measures to minimize the impact of the disaster. The southern regions basically completed emergency harvesting before the rainfall, ensuring the harvest of summer grain. The northern wheat areas were in the filling period, and the timely rainfall effectively supplemented the soil moisture, which was conducive to the improvement of per unit yield, especially the obvious yield increase of dryland wheat.

Summer Grain Output Surpasses 150 Billion Kilograms

In 2026, the national summer grain output reached 301.49 billion jin (One Jin=500g), an increase of 2 billion jin (One Jin=500g) or 0.7% over the previous year. By variety, the wheat output was 277.9 billion jin (One Jin=500g), an increase of 1.57 billion jin (One Jin=500g) or 0.6%. Among them, the winter wheat output was 273.07 billion jin (One Jin=500g), an increase of 2.17 billion jin (One Jin=500g) or 0.8%. By region, 22 out of 25 summer grain producing areas achieved output growth. Among them, Henan, Jiangsu and Shaanxi achieved a restorative increase in output, with an increase of 530 million jin, 490 million jin and 400 million jin respectively, while Anhui, Shandong, Hebei and Sichuan saw an increase of 300 million jin, 280 million jin, 260 million jin and 150 million jin respectively. Hubei's output decreased by 40 million jin due to heavy rainfall, and Xinjiang's output decreased by 840 million jin due to the adjustment of planting structure.

China's summer grain output achieved a bumper harvest in 2026, laying a solid foundation for stabilizing the annual grain production. It also provided strong support for coping with the complex and severe international situation, promoting the steady improvement of the economy, and achieving a good start to the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.

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