BEIJING: China’s summer wheat production rose 2.7% this year, official data showed on Friday, escaping the impact of extreme heat that had hit parts of key grain growing regions during the harvesting season. Production in the world’s top grower of the grain rose to 138.22 million metric tons, a rebound after heavy rains last year sapped yields.

Wheat acreage increased by 0.1% while yields rose 2.6%, the National Bureau of Statistics said. China’s northwest and east, key grain producing regions, had seared under record high temperatures as farmers wrapped up their wheat harvest in June, damaging some of the ripened grain.

The statistics bureau in a statement attributed the higher production to good weather conditions during the growing season, minimal impact from disasters and the use of higher-yielding wheat varieties. The higher minimum purchase price of wheat and other subsidies also helped encourage planting, said Wang Guirong, director of the bureau’s rural division.

China’s summer grain production rose 2.5% from a year ago to 149.78 million metric tons, while summer grain planting acreage was stable at 26.61 million hectares, he said.