China's early rice output up

China's early rice production hit 32.1 million tonnes this year, up 8.8 percent from 2003, state television said on Tuesday.
It is the first output increase for early rice in four years in the world's most populous country, China Central Television quoted the National Bureau of Statistics as saying.
It attributed the output rise to an increase in planting areas and good weather. Early rice refers to rice planted for the first harvest and is usually harvested by early summer.
Planting areas for early rice rose 6.1 percent year on year to 5.9 million hectares in 2004 thanks to supportive government measures, it said.
China's grain output is expected to rise six percent this year to 455.6 million tonnes, state media have said.