China's 2012 Agricultural Production Statistics

According to a December report from China's National Bureau of Statistics and the Bureau's Statistical Communique released in February, China produced more of every major commodity last year (except maybe soybeans). All the statistics are in the table below.

Grain production was up 3.2 percent, the ninth consecutive increase. NBS says that expanded area planted in grain contributed 3.58 million tons and yield increases contributed 14.78 million tons to the increase in grain output.

Corn production expanded 8 percent and became the leading crop produced in China. Corn's increase in planted area of 1.4 million hectares was mirrored by declines in soybeans (-712,000 hectares), cotton (-340,000 hectares) and wheat (-131,000 hectares). NBS doesn't mention it, but corn's expansion of area (4 percent) outpaced its increase in yield (3.5 percent). Thus, corn's output growth came mainly from expanding area.

Meat production was up 5.4 percent. Most of that growth came from pork (up 5.6 percent) and poultry meat (up 6.7 percent). These two species are the main consumers of animal feed and their growth corresponds to the major expansion of corn output. Note that corn output grew 8 percent, faster than growth in meat output. In contrast, growth in production of ruminant animals that eat mainly grass--beef, mutton, and dairy--increased at a relatively slow 2-to-2.5-percent rate. This reflects the general lack of forage resources in China, the long production cycle for cattle, and a campaign to restructure production of grazing and dairy animals.

China Preliminary Agricultural Production Statistics for 2012

Crop	Area planted, 2012	Change from 2011
	1,000 hectares	1,000 hectares
Grain	111,270	690
Rice	30,297	240
Corn	34,949	1,407
Wheat	24,139	-131
Soybeans	7,177	-712
Cotton	4,700	-340
Oilseeds	13,980	120
Sugar crops	2,030	90
Grain yields	Yield, 2012	Change from 2011
	mt/ha	mt/ha
Grain	5,299	133
Rice	6,743	55
Corn	5,955	207
Wheat	4,995	158
Crop output	Output, 2012	Change
	1,000 metric tons	Percent
Grain	589,570	3.2
Summer grain	129,950	2.8
Early season rice	33,290	1.6
Fall grain	426,330	3.5
major grain crops:
Rice	204,290	1.6
Wheat	120,580	2.7
Corn	208,120	8.0
Cotton	6,840	3.8
Oilseed crops	34,760	5.1
Sugar crops	134,960	7.8
Tobacco	3,200	11.5
Tea	1,800	11.2
Output of livestock products	Output, 2012	Change
	1,000 metric tons	Percent
Meat output	83,840	5.4
Pork	53,350	5.6
Beef	6,620	2.3
Mutton	4,010	2.0
Poultry meat	18,230	6.7
Eggs	28,610	1.8
Milk	37,440	2.3
	1,000 head	Percent
Hog inventory (end of year)	474,920	1.6
Hogs slaughtered	696,280	5.2
Source: China National Bureau of Statistics.