In the first three quarters, all regions and departments thoroughly implemented the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers. Despite the impact of adverse weather such as heavy rainfall and typhoons, summer grain output increased, early rice production remained stable, and the outlook for autumn grain production was good. Another bumper grain harvest is expected for the year. Livestock production continued to improve, agricultural product prices remained stable, and the agricultural economy showed steady and positive momentum.
First, another bumper grain harvest is expected for the year.
Summer grain production increased, while early rice production remained stable. In 2026, summer grain production overcame adverse factors such as the large-scale late sowing of winter wheat and heavy precipitation, achieving a good harvest. National summer grain output reached 3014.9 billion jin, surpassing 3000 billion jin for the first time, an increase of 20.0 billion jin over the previous year, or 0.7%. Early rice output was 565.8 billion jin, a decrease of 4.4 billion jin from the previous year, or 0.8%. Combined summer grain and early rice output increased by 15.6 billion jin, or 0.4%, laying a solid foundation for grain production for the full year.
The outlook for autumn grain production is good. This year, the country has continued to implement a range of policies to strengthen, benefit, and enrich agriculture, while reinforcing and coordinating policy support in areas such as prices, insurance, and subsidies. These measures have encouraged farmers to grow grain and local authorities to focus on grain production, and the area sown to autumn grain has increased slightly while remaining generally stable. Since autumn grain sowing began, temperature, sunlight, and water conditions have been well matched across most agricultural regions nationwide, generally favoring crop growth and yield formation. Although some areas have experienced adverse weather, including heavy rainfall and typhoons, the overall impact has been more severe in isolated areas than widespread, and the effect on national grain production is generally manageable. After 9 enters the maturation and harvest period, sunny weather is expected to predominate in the main producing regions, favoring crop maturation and harvest drying, as well as helping improve grain quality. At present, the autumn harvest is progressing steadily nationwide, and another good grain harvest is expected for the year.
II. Livestock production is developing favorably
In the first three quarters, national pork, beef, mutton, and poultry production totaled 7627 ten thousand metric tons, an increase of 315 ten thousand metric tons year on year, up 4.3%. Among these, pork production increased by 3.2%, beef production decreased by 0.7%, mutton production decreased by 3.7%, and poultry production increased by 9.3%.
Growth in the number of hogs marketed slowed, while the reduction in basic production capacity accelerated. In the first three quarters, a total of 53739 ten thousand hogs were marketed nationwide, an increase of 747 ten thousand year on year, up 1.4%, with the growth rate down 0.3 percentage points from the first half of the year. Pork production was 4508 ten thousand tonnes, an increase of 140 ten thousand tonnes year on year, up 3.2%. At the end of the third quarter, the nationwide hog inventory stood at 42533 ten thousand head, a decrease of 1147 ten thousand head year on year, down 2.6%. Of these, the inventory of breeding sows stood at 3602 ten thousand head, a decrease of 433 ten thousand head year on year, down 10.7%, with the decline widening by 4.2 percentage points from the second quarter. It currently stands at 96.0% of the normal holding level of 3750 ten thousand head.
Cattle and sheep slaughter and inventories declined, with both declines narrowing. In the first three quarters, beef cattle slaughter nationwide reached 3455 ten thousand head, a year-on-year decrease of 109 ten thousand head, or 3.1%; the decline narrowed by 0.7 percentage points from the first half of the year. Beef production was 546 ten thousand tonnes, a year-on-year decrease of 4 ten thousand tonnes, or 0.7%. Milk production was 2991 ten thousand tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 70 ten thousand tonnes, or 2.4%. Sheep slaughter nationwide reached 19862 ten thousand head, a year-on-year decrease of 1293 ten thousand head, or 6.1%; the decline narrowed by 0.5 percentage points from the first half of the year. Mutton production was 328 ten thousand tonnes, a year-on-year decrease of 13 ten thousand tonnes, or 3.7%. At the end of the third quarter, cattle inventories nationwide stood at 9523 ten thousand head, down 4.1% year on year; the decline narrowed by 0.2 percentage points from the second quarter. Sheep inventories nationwide stood at 27516 ten thousand head, down 5.0% year on year; the decline narrowed by 0.2 percentage points from the second quarter.
Poultry slaughter increased rapidly, while egg production declined. In the first three quarters, poultry slaughter nationwide reached 143.0 hundred million birds, an increase of 10.3 hundred million birds year on year, or 7.8%; poultry meat production was 2244 ten thousand tonnes, an increase of 191 ten thousand tonnes year on year, or 9.3%; and egg production was 2601 ten thousand tonnes, a decrease of 45 ten thousand tonnes year on year, or a decline of 1.7%. At the end of the third quarter, poultry stocks nationwide stood at 64.6 hundred million birds, up 1.0% year on year.
Three. Agricultural product prices remain stable.
In the first three quarters, national agricultural producer prices fell 2.4% year on year. They fell 2.4% in the first quarter, 3.0% in the second quarter, and 2.1% in the third quarter. By category, prices of agricultural products fell 0.4%, forestry product prices were unchanged, prices of livestock and livestock products fell 6.8%, and fishery product prices edged down 0.2%. By product, grain prices rose 0.6% year on year. Among them, corn prices rose 3.3%, marking four consecutive quarters of increases; wheat prices fell 1.9%, and rice prices fell 0.8%. Vegetable prices fell 0.7%, fruit prices fell 2.4%, and oilseed prices fell 1.9%. Live cattle prices rose 8.8%, marking six consecutive quarters of increases; live sheep prices rose 7.6%, marking five consecutive quarters of increases. Poultry and egg prices rose 10.2%, milk prices rose 0.4%, and hog prices fell 22.1%.
At the end of 9 month, prices at agricultural produce markets were generally stable. Grain prices remained stable: prices of indica rice and japonica rice both rose by 0.5% month on month, the wheat price was unchanged, the corn price fell by 1.0%, and the soybean price fell by 0.4%. Livestock and poultry product prices mostly rose: prices of live cattle, live sheep, live chickens, and eggs rose by 2.7%, 1.6%, 1.0%, and 1.8%, respectively, while the hog price fell by 1.0%. Vegetable prices rose and fell, while fruit prices mostly declined. (The author is Director of the Department of Rural Surveys, National Bureau of Statistics.)