During the monitoring period in early-to-mid October 2023, the harvest of maize and soybean is completed in most areas of North and Northeast China. Semilate rice in Jiangsu, Fujian, Zhejiang and Anhui is currently at the milky and mature stage. Late rice in the South China region is in the milky stage, while most of rice in Northeast China has already been harvested. Winter wheat in major planted regions is in the sowing and seeding stage.

According to agro-climatic indicators, influenced by Typhoon "Little Dog", there has been significant windy and rainy in the southeastern part of Fujian, the central and eastern parts of Guangdong, and the coastal areas of Guangxi. To some extent, it has alleviated the previous inadequate precipitation in southern Fujian, but it has also affected the maturation and harvest of late rice. In the southern parts of Jiangnan, most of the southwestern region and southern China, there is a prevalence of rainy and cloudy weather, which is unfavorable for the late rice maturation, autumn grain drying, and autumn sowing.

Up to early-to-mid October, remote sensing monitoring of crop condition is above average in parts of the Yangtze River basin, along the lower reaches of the Yellow River, along the Huai River, in the southwestern part of Heilongjiang, and in the western part of Jilin. However, in the western Loess Plateau, the eastern Henan, the western Jiangsu, and the northern Anhui, crop growth is below average.

Overall, crop condition in southern regions is favourable, slightly above the average of the past five years.

Figure 1: NDVI departure from 5 years average (2023.09.30 - 2023.10.15)