BEIJING - China's grain output dipped in 2016 as its planting area shrank and per unit yield edged down, official data showed Thursday.

National grain output stood at about 616 million tons in 2016, down by about 5.2 million tons, about 0.8 percent, compared with last year, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Grain planting area has shrunk by 315,000 hectares, while the per unit yield dropped by 30.7 kilograms per hectare.

Facing unbalanced supply and demand among grain varieties, many areas reduced corn planting in favor of soy and used the grain for feedstuff and oil, according to Huang Bingxin, a senior statistician with NBS.

The reduction in the planting area impacted high-yield grain, and severe national extreme weather such as drought and heavy rain also dented grain productivity, Huang added.