A farmer operates a machine to harvest wheat in Shilipu Village of Wuyang County, central China's Henan Province, May 29, 2019. (Xinhua)

BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Summer grain output in central China's Henan Province topped the national chart with a harvest of 37.45 billion kg in 2019, up 3.6 percent from last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

The total area for growing summer crops fell 0.9 percent to about 5.72 million hectares, while the average output per hectare of crops grew 4.5 percent compared to the previous year, both coming in first nationwide, according to the NBS.

Summer output for wheat, the province's main crop, rose 3.9 percent to 37.42 billion kg.

The good harvest can be attributed to favorable weather conditions, smaller pest-affected area and improved quality of the wheat, said an official with the NBS.

China's summer grain output reached 141.74 million tonnes in 2019, up 2.1 percent year on year. Enditem