National Bureau of Statistics releases 2015 summer grain output data announcement

Based on a survey of 26 summer grain producing provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the country, the 2015 national summer grain sown area, yield per unit area and total output are as follows:

1. The national summer grain sown area was 27,692.3 thousand hectares (415,384 thousand mu), an increase of 110.7 thousand hectares (1.661 million mu) over 2014, up 0.4%. Of this, the cereal sown area was 24,057.4 thousand hectares (360,861 thousand mu), an increase of 131.5 thousand hectares (1.973 million mu) over 2014, up 0.5%.

2. The national summer grain yield per unit area was 5,094.0 kg/hectare (339.6 kg/mu), an increase of 141.6 kg/hectare (9.4 kg/mu) over 2014, up 2.9%. Of this, the cereal yield per unit area was 5,412.4 kg/hectare (360.8 kg/mu), an increase of 145.6 kg/hectare (9.7 kg/mu) over 2014, up 2.8%.

3. The national total summer grain output was 141.066 million tons (282.13 billion jin), an increase of 4.470 million tons (8.94 billion jin) over 2014, up 3.3%. Of this, cereal output was 130.209 million tons (260.42 billion jin), an increase of 4.195 million tons (8.39 billion jin) over 2014, up 3.3%.

National Bureau of Statistics

July 15, 2015

Notes on the summer grain output survey

The summer grain output data published by the National Bureau of Statistics are derived from two survey methods: sample surveys with the province as the overall unit carried out in major summer grain producing areas, and key surveys in non-major producing areas.

(1) Scope of summer grain

Summer grain includes summer-harvested cereals, pulses and tubers. Summer-harvested cereals mainly include wheat, corn and barley; summer-harvested pulses mainly include broad beans, peas and horse beans; tubers include potatoes and sweet potatoes.

(2) Survey scope

The summer grain data for 17 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Xinjiang, were obtained through sample surveys organized by the survey offices of the National Bureau of Statistics in more than 400 selected national survey counties (cities), yielding the summer grain output.

The summer grain data for 9 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), including Liaoning, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, were calculated by the relevant survey offices based on key surveys.

(3) Survey samples

The summer grain output sample survey consists of sample surveys of sown area and yield per unit area.

The summer grain sown area sample survey was conducted among more than 4,000 survey villages and more than 200,000 farming households selected in national survey counties (cities) to investigate the planting of wheat and other grain crops; the provincial survey offices then extrapolated the provincial summer grain sown area based on the basic survey data.

The summer grain yield per unit area sample survey selected 40,000 sample plots from more than 3,000 survey villages selected in national survey counties (cities), and the yield was extrapolated through actual harvesting and measurement of summer-harvested wheat.

(4) Yield measurement method

Actual harvesting and measurement of wheat yield means that before the wheat harvest, grassroots surveyors, in accordance with the "Agricultural Output Sample Survey System", conduct field-by-field yield estimation and ordering of wheat-planted plots within the survey villager groups, select a certain number of survey plots and mark them, and during the harvest period, county-level survey team members or assistant surveyors lay out samples and actually cut samples from the selected plots, and then measure the plot yield per unit area through threshing, drying, moisture testing and weighing. The provincial survey offices then extrapolate the provincial average yield per unit area based on the data from each selected plot.

The summer grain output data are obtained by multiplying the sown area from the sample survey by the yield per unit area.

(5) Other

In Gansu, Ningxia and Xinjiang, because spring wheat matures relatively late, the current summer grain data are preliminary estimates.