SHENYANG, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu has encouraged local governments and farmers in northeast China to expand grain production to stabilize the nation's food supply.

Hui made the call during an inspection tour to Liaoning Province, a major rice-producing province in northeast China, from Friday to Saturday.

The grain planting situation this summer is challenging as persistent cold weather since last winter has ravaged major production zones in the north.

Hui said northeast China is a key rice production area. With good quality, rice produced here has a great market demand. Hui encouraged farmers to plant more rice and expand production capacity.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, northeast China's grain output accounted for about one fifth of the country's total food yield last year.

Grain output reached 530.8 million tonnes in 2009, the sixth consecutive year of growth in grain yield.