China’s Summer Grain Harvest Tops 300 Billion Jin

China’s summer grain harvest has reached a historic milestone, exceeding 300 billion jin (150 million tons) for the first time, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on July 10. The total output of 301.49 billion jin represents a year-on-year increase of 20 billion jin, or 0.7%, despite adverse weather conditions that threatened the crop during both the sowing and harvesting seasons.

Record Output Amid Challenges

The record was achieved even as the total sown area for summer grain declined slightly by 0.2% to 397.99 million mu (26.53 million hectares), according to CCTV News. The increase came from higher yields, with per-unit output rising 0.8% to 378.8 kg per mu. Wheat, which accounts for the bulk of summer grain production, reached 277.9 billion jin, up 0.6% from 2025.

Wei Fenghua, Director of the Rural Department at the NBS, told Economic Reference News that the harvest was achieved despite significant headwinds. “Facing the unfavorable situation of last autumn’s prolonged rainfall in the Huang-Huai-Hai region causing widespread delays in winter wheat sowing, the central government promptly allocated special funds to support emergency harvesting and sowing,” Wei said. Local governments implemented wet-resistant sowing techniques and late-sowing adaptation measures, ensuring winter wheat was planted as planned.

Technology Driving Productivity

The record harvest is being attributed to what Chinese policymakers call “new quality productive forces” (新质生产力) in agriculture — a strategy encompassing improved seed varieties, smart machinery, and digital farming tools.

According to Xinhua News, over 17 million agricultural machines were deployed nationwide during the harvest season, including more than 800,000 combine harvesters. Cross-regional harvesting teams, such as the Shandong Songdi team led by captain Dong Song, operated across multiple provinces. “This year, the农机 operating system was upgraded to sense crop conditions in real time and automatically slow down,” Dong told Xinhua. “Even with more rain, the drum basically never clogged.”

Seed technology played a critical role. Varieties such as Kenmai 58 and Emai 30, bred for resistance to pre-harvest sprouting, helped farmers like Wu Jinjun of Hubei Province mitigate losses during heavy rains. “This year’s harvest coincided with continuous rain, but only about 20% of the wheat ears on these varieties showed sprouting, saving about 200 yuan per mu,” Wu told reporters.

Digital Agriculture Takes Root

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being deployed in China’s farmlands. The “Maijitong” (麦急通) mini-program, developed by the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, provides farmers with real-time weather warnings, disease detection, and precision management recommendations.

Associate researcher Su Yao, who helped develop the tool, explained that the system “can achieve millisecond-level warnings, helping users ‘farm by knowing the weather.’” The platform integrates data from multiple disciplines including wheat growth science, soil science, plant protection, and agricultural meteorology.

Strategic Significance

The record summer grain harvest carries broader implications for China’s food security strategy. China’s annual grain output has remained steadily above 1.3 trillion jin for several years and crossed the 1.4 trillion jin threshold during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) targets a comprehensive grain production capacity of 1.45 trillion jin by 2030.

Cheng Guoqiang, a professor at Renmin University and Director of the National Food Security Strategy Research Institute, emphasized the need for continued innovation. “There is an urgent need to take new quality agricultural productive forces as the fundamental driver, pushing grain production from a resource-consumption model to an innovation-driven model,” Cheng told Xinhua.

Looking Ahead

With summer grain harvesting complete, attention now turns to the autumn harvest, which accounts for approximately 75% of China’s annual grain output. The 2026 Central Document No. 1 has called for “developing new quality productive forces in agriculture according to local conditions,” signaling continued policy support for agricultural modernization.

The record summer harvest provides a strong start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period and demonstrates China’s capacity to maintain food self-sufficiency amid climate challenges and global supply chain volatility. However, questions remain about the environmental sustainability of continued yield increases and the ability to meet the 1.45 trillion jin target by 2030 given resource constraints.