China is likely to see a bumper grain harvest this summer for six straight years if there is no severe natural disasters in the near future, a top agricultural official said Tuesday.

Minister of Agriculture Sun Zhengcai said the country had overcome a number of difficulties such as a prolonged winter and spring drought in wheat-planting areas to ensure an increase in grain output.

"China has not loosened its efforts in grain production because of bumper harvests for the past five consecutive years, or ignore it amid the impact of global financial crisis," Sun said at a reaping ceremony in Zhumadian, Henan Province, a major wheat producer in the country.

Last year, China's grain output reached 528.5 million tons. Summer grain output makes up about 23 percent of the country's total.

(Xinhua News Agency May 27, 2009)