South Korea's rice production hit a six-year high in 2015 caused by greater yield per cultivated land, government data showed Friday.

According to the data from Statistics Korea, South Korea produced a total of 4.32 million tons of rice this year, up 2 percent from 4.24 million tons a year earlier.

This marked the third straight year of growth in rice output.

The growth came in spite of a 2-percent drop in the country's rice-growing area from a year earlier.

"Lack of serious typhoons and pest damage pushed up output," the agency said. "Good weather conditions particularly in August and September helped."

It added that enhanced production efficiency also played a role in propping up rice output.

The amount of rice harvested from 1,000 square meters of land increased 4.2 percent to 542 kilograms from the previous year's 520 kilograms, according to the data. By region, South Jeolla Province ranked No. 1 with total output hitting 866,000 tons, followed by South Chungcheong Province reporting 828,000 tons. (Yonhap)