4.2 China crop production

Most crops in China have already been harvested by the end of the reporting period, with the exception of late rice, for which harvesting just started in late October. Taking advantage of the full coverage of remote sensing data and agro-climatic indicators throughout the growing season, CropWatch gives a final revision of the 2017 yield and production estimates for maize, single rice, late rice, and soybean (table 4.2). Table 4.3 presents additional estimates for different types of rice for various growing seasons.  

Maize

As illustrated in the tables, the production of maize is down to 1889.9 million tons, a 5% drop compared to 2016 due mainly to a decrease in planted area. Since late 2016, the maize price has been well below that of the previous five years, and farmers decided to plant less maize in order to have more profit from the fields. In addition, since 2016, China has been implementing a new agricultural policy that encourages farmers to shift from maize to other, more suitable crops in regions where maize cultivation is less than optimal due to soil or climate constraints. As a result, the planted area of maize decreased by 3.7% from 2016. Among the major maize producing provinces, Gansu and Jiangsu are the only two provinces that output more maize (+4% and +1%, respectively) than last year thanks to the favorable conditions. Heilongjiang, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Liaoning, Shanxi, and Sichuan experienced significant production drops (more than 3%). Maize planted area in Heilongjiang, Henan, and Inner Mongolia decreased by more than 3%, while average yield in Shanxi and Sichuan decreased 2% or more. The largest drop (-5.3%) in maize area was observed in Henan province where many maize fields were converted to groundnuts cultivation. 

Rice

The aggregated rice and single rice production in 2017 remains at 200.6 million tons, the same level as 2016, while production of late rice decreased by 1%. At the provincial scale, the total rice production in Fujian, Ningxia, and Sichuan decreased by 3%, 5%, and 3%, respectively. Both early rice and late rice production dropped in Fujian because of the shifts from double cropping rice to single rice. Adverse weather conditions hampered yield accumulation for rice in Ningxia and Sichuan. Large increases in rice production occurred in Hubei, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang because of increasing planted area and average yield. Production of late rice in Hubei, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang also increased by more than 3%.

Wheat

The harvest of both winter wheat and spring wheat had been concluded by August and production of wheat remained the same as the previous estimates listed in this year's August CropWatch Bulletin. 

Soybean

CropWatch revised its estimates for soybean production to 13,745 ktons, up 3% from last year's increased production. This is the second year of the increased production mainly due to increased planted area, even if the national average yield is down by 1.3%. The most significant increase in soybean production occurred in Inner Mongolia (a 6% increase). Heilongjiang, the top soybean region in China, produced 2% more than in 2016 thanks to increased area. Soybean production decreased in the Henan, Shanxi, Anhui, Liaoning, and Jilin resulting from unfavorable agro-climatic conditions and resulting lower yield. 

Table 4.2. China 2017 production of maize, rice, wheat, and soybean, and percentage change from 2016, by province

* Production for Taiwan province is not included.
Note: Wheat data include both winter wheat and spring wheat.

Table 4.3. China 2017 early rice, single rice, and ate rice production and percentage difference from 2016, by province

* Production for Taiwan province is not included.

Overall, CropWatch puts the total 2017 output of summer crops (including maize, single rice, late rice, spring wheat, soybean, minor cereals, and tubers) at 403.0 million tons, a significant decrease (-3%) from 2016. The total annual crop production (including cereals, tubers, and legumes) is 562.3 million tons, a 1.0% drop or 8.0 million tons less compared with 2016. Detailed information of seasonal aggregated production by province is listed in Table 4.4. Inner Mongolia experienced the largest drop with 6% lower annual production than 2016, while Jiangxi, Shandong, and Zhejiang showed a significant increase in annual production of 4%, 5%, and 4%, respectively, compared to 2016. 

Table 4.4. Aggregated crop production per the harvest season for major agricultural provinces, China 2017

* Production for Taiwan province is not included.