Structural adjustment for crop production continued. In 2003, the sown area of grain was 99.41 million hectares, a decrease of 4.48 million hectares as compared with that in the previous year, and the sown area of sugar crops was 1.65 million hectares, a decrease of 170,000 hectares. The sown area of cotton was 5.11 million hectares, an increase of 920,000 hectares. The sown area of oil-bearing crops rose by 200,000 hectares to reach 14.97 million hectares, and that for vegetables rose by 560,000 hectares to reach 17.91 million hectares.

The production of major farm crops decreased, including grain, cotton, oil-bearing crops and sugar crops. The output of vegetables and fruits continued to grow with better variety and quality. The total output of grain in 2003 was 430.67 million tons, down by 26.39 million tons or 5.8 percent from the previous year.

Steady progress was seen in animal husbandry and fishery. The total output of meat for the year reached 69.2 million tons, up 5.1 percent. Of this total, the output of beef and mutton was up 12.9 percent and 10.8 percent respectively. Rapid growth was recorded in the output of cow milk. The total output of aquatic products was 46.9 million tons, up 2.8 percent.

The marine industry experienced rapid growth. In 2003, the total output value of marine-related industries exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the first time, hitting 1,007.77 billion yuan. Experts pointed out that the general level of China's marine economy is above average in the world. The added value of the marine sector was 445.5 billion yuan in 2003, which registered a growth of 9.4 percent over the previous year at comparable prices.