Northeast grain output hits a new high, with growth rate and contribution both ranking first nationwide

According to a announcement by the National Bureau of Statistics, the total grain output of the three provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning hit a new high, becoming the region with the fastest grain growth and the largest contribution nationwide, further giving play to the important role of the "big granary" and the "stabilizer of the grain market."

According to the announcement on 2015 grain output recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the national total grain output was 621.435 million tons, of which the total grain output of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia was 148.005 million tons, and the share of the four provinces and autonomous region in the national total grain output rose from 17.7 in 2003 to 23.8 percent in 2015.

The data show that the national total grain output in 2015 increased by 14.408 million tons over 2014, a growth of 2.4 percent. The total grain output of the four provinces and autonomous region in the Northeast increased by 5.195 million tons over 2014, accounting for more than 36 percent of the national grain increase.

Judging from the history of China's grain production and the various measures the state is currently taking for food security, the Northeast has always occupied an extremely important strategic position. As China's largest producing area of corn, high-quality japonica rice and soybeans, the Northeast has always been an important base for commercial grain production, grain allocation and commercial grain reserves in China. According to the ranking of total grain output, Heilongjiang ranks first nationwide in total grain output, Jilin fourth, and Inner Mongolia tenth.

Apart from being used locally, most of the grain from the Northeast is sold to East China, South China and North China and other regions. Liu Xiaoran, deputy secretary-general of the Corn Branch of the China National Association of Grain Sector, said that China currently has only 5 grain-exporting provinces (regions), and the Northeast accounts for 3 of them. This region has become the supply area for commercial grain such as japonica rice and corn under China's "north-to-south grain transport," and the volume of grain transferred out of the Northeast accounts for more than 60 percent of the national total.