BEIJING — China will further improve its agricultural plantation structure and narrow the deficit in the supply of certain farm products in 2019, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Changfu said on Feb 13.

Corn planting will be more concentrated in high-yield areas to ensure a steady supply, while rice and wheat fields in regions with damaged underground water supplies will be reduced, Han said at a national work conference on spring farming.

Production of soybeans and oil plants will be expanded, he said.

The minister called for efforts to keep China’s grain output stable in 2019. The country’s grain output has stabilized above 600 billion kg for six years in a row by 2018.