BEIJING — China will spare no effort to produce at least 600 million tons of grain in 2018, the Ministry of Agriculture has said.

It is a must to fulfill the goal in order to ensure food security, the ministry said. Production of rice and wheat should be no less than 53.3 million hectares.

Efforts should be made to improve price-setting, grain reserves and compensation in grain-producing areas.

About 618 million tons of grain were produced in 2017, the second highest output in history, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.