BEIJING — China's early rice output reported a 3.9-percent increase in 2020 after seven consecutive years of decline, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Aug 19.

The output reached 27.29 million metric tons, up 1.03 million tons from 2019.

The steady increase in early rice production was mainly due to a surge in the cultivation area, although severe floods in parts of southern China led to a drop in per unit area yield, said Li Suoqiang, an official with the NBS.

A bumper summer harvest and an increase in early rice production laid a solid foundation for stable grain production of the year, Li said.