BEIJING — China's early rice output saw a 2.7-percent increase this year as per unit yield improved, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Aug 25.

The output reached 28.02 million metric tons, up 723,000 tons from the level in 2020.

Despite a slight decrease in cultivation area due to droughts in southern China and adjustment in crop structure, the per unit area yield of early rise increased 3 percent year-on-year, according to Li Suoqiang, an official with the NBS.

A bumper summer harvest and an increase in early rice production has laid a solid foundation for stable grain production of the year and provided strong support for a good start to the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), Li said.