China's vegetable output reached 700m tons in 2018

YINCHUAN - China's vegetable output was 700 million tons last year, up 1.2 percent year-on-year, according to a vegetable industry conference.

The conference was held in Yinchuan, capital of Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region on Wednesday.

China's overall supply of vegetables was sufficient in 2018, with consumer demand increasing steadily, while supply was able to adjust to demand, said Xue Liang, chairman of the China Vegetable Association.

Last year, the vegetable planting area reached 19.96 million hectares, steady from 2017. The vegetable production value totaled 2.2 trillion yuan ($320 billion) and the net output was 1.2 trillion yuan, according to Xue.

Xue said the per capita net income of the rural population in China from the vegetable industry reached 2,140 yuan in 2018.

The intellectual property protection of China's vegetable seed industry has made positive progress, with 6,665 vegetable varieties registered nationwide as of December last year.

The vegetable industry has become a pillar industry in rural areas, as China has implemented a rural revitalization strategy to boost the development of agriculture, promote rural employment and increase farmers' income.