Statistics released by the State Statistics Bureau on December 3 showed that China's gross grain production reached about 550 million tons in 2010, an increase of 2.9 percent from last year.

Zhang Zhaoxin,associate research fellow at the Research Center for Rural Economy under the Ministry of Agriculture, stated that the increase in grain production shows that China's agricultural industry has a strong and stable foundation. The industry's successes in 2010 can be attributed to both political and environmental factors; for example, the Chinese Government created several policies this year which allowed for increased grain production. In addition, northeast China saw a larger number of clear and sunny days than usual in the latter half of the year, further boosting the production of grain.

Zhang said that the increased grain production will allow China to stabilize the prices of its agricultural products. Affected by the fluctuation of international prices, the price of domestic agricultural products has increased recently. Speculation surrounding China's spate of natural disasters in 2010 also had a negative effect on prices. However, Zhang believes that the agricultural industry's bountiful grain harvest will allow prices to go back down again.