China’s early rice output eases 0.6% y/y as extreme heat saps yields
China’s early rice production fell 0.6% to 28.17 million metric tons due to intense heat. Sowing area increased by 0.5% to 47.55 thousand hectares, but yields dropped by 1% amid severe weather conditions. This year’s extreme heat and dryness, including the warmest spring since 1961, negatively impacted yields.
BEIJING, Aug 23 (Reuters) -China produced 28.17 million metric tons of “early rice”, its first rice crop of the year, down 0.6% compared with a year earlier as yields shrunk after an intense heatwave, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday.
The sowing area had risen by 0.5% to 47.55 thousand hectares while yields fell 1% compared to a year ago, it said.
The lower yield comes as extreme heat and dryness baked China’s rice-growing regions during the harvest season.
This year, China was hit by its warmest spring since 1961, followed by the hottest May that was followed by weeks of drought-like conditions in the central farmland region.
Early rice is typically the smallest of three rice crops planted in a year.
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