BEIJING - China will step up efforts to purchase and store grain and build more granaries as its grain output rises, according to an official statement on Wednesday.

In 2014 and 2015, the country should build new grain-storage facilities capable of holding 50 billion kg of grain, concentrating them in its northeast and south, said the statement, issued after a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.

The meeting concluded that China should innovate in financing for granary construction by guiding social capital to participate in the process.

It should also support the construction of storage buildings with drying facilities by farmer cooperatives and major specialized farming households in the main grain-producing areas.

In 2013, China's grain output rose 2.1 percent from a year earlier to 601.94 million tons, marking the 10th consecutive year of growth.

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