China's early-season rice yield stood at around 28.17 billion kilograms this year, exceeding the threshold of 28 billion kilograms for four consecutive years, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Friday.
The output dropped by 0.6 percent year on year, primarily due to heavy rain and flooding in the country's leading grain-producing regions since April, the NBS explained.
The NBS also noted that the sown areas for China's early-season rice remained largely stable. The early-season rice planting area nationwide was 71.322 million mu (around 4.75 million hectares) this year, up 0.5 percent compared to the previous year.
China's early rice output exceeds threshold of 28 billion kgs for four consecutive years
International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol warned on Thursday that the global oil market may enter a "red zone" in July and August this year, as fuel demand rise and stocks dwindle.
Birol noted that the supply crisis triggered by the situation in the Middle East was initially cushioned by spare capacity in the global oil market, but that oil stocks are now gradually decreasing.
The 32 members of the IEA on March 11 unanimously agreed to make 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves available to the market in response to disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.
The IEA stands ready to coordinate further reserve releases if necessary, Birol added.
IEA chief warns of global oil market entering "red zone" this summer
