BEIJING - China's top economic planner announced Wednesday that it will raise the minimum purchase prices for wheat from farmers in 2012 to boost grain output.

The move "aims to protect farmers' enthusiasm to grow grains and further stimulate grain production," the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement.

The minimum purchase price for white wheat in the country's major wheat-producing areas will be increased to 102 yuan ($16) per 50 kg, up 7 yuan from the 2011 price, said the NDRC.

It said the minimum purchase prices for red and mixed wheat will both rise 9 yuan to 102 yuan per 50 kg next year.

Wheat is one of China's major grains, which feeds its population of 1.3 billion people mainly with domestically-produced grains.

A stable food supply is crucial to China's efforts to check inflation, as food prices account for about a third of the weighting in its consumer price index (CPI) calculation, a main gauge of inflation.

China's CPI rose to a 27-month year-on-year high of 6.5 percent in July and weakened slightly to 6.2 percent in August.

The country's grain output rose 2.9 percent last year to 546.41 million tonnes, marking the seventh consecutive year of output growth.

The Ministry of Agriculture expects the output to reach a record high of 550 million tonnes this year.