Harvesters work in rice paddies in Fangzheng County, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Sept. 22, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

　　BEIJING, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's 2024 grain output hit a record high of 706.5 million tonnes, an increase of 1.6 percent from the output last year, official data showed Friday.

　　The year 2024 also marks the first time that the country registered a grain harvest of over 700 million tonnes, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data. Previously, the country's annual grain output had been above 650 million tonnes for nine consecutive years.

　　In grain categories, the output of cereals rose 1.7 percent year on year, with rice, wheat and corn all reporting production rises. The output of tubers rose 1.5 percent. Soybeans, however, saw a decrease of 0.9 percent in output, the data showed.

　　This year's bumper harvest was accompanied by a rise in grain planting areas in the country, which stood at over 119 million hectares, up 0.3 percent year on year. Meanwhile, grain output per unit area also increased 1.3 percent, the data showed.

　　NBS official Wei Fenghua said that despite some areas experiencing floods, droughts, typhoons and other disasters over the past year, most agricultural regions in the country had relatively good sunshine as well as temperature and water conditions that were conducive to the growth of crops.

　　Wei said the bumper grain harvest has further boosted national food security and would lay a solid foundation for promoting all-round rural revitalization and building the nation into an agricultural powerhouse.