The income gap between China's urban and rural residents has narrowed for three consecutive years, the Ministry of Agriculture said on November 1.

Rural residents' per-capita cash income stood at 6,778 yuan ($1,086) in the first three quarters of this year, up 12.3 percent year on year, the ministry said, adding that the growth was 2.5 percentage points higher than that of urban residents.

The urban-rural income ratio was 2.72 to 1, down from 2.77 to 1 in the same period last year, according to the ministry.

The ministry warned that farmers' income growth will slow down due to soaring agricultural production costs.

Moreover, the grim global economic condition will have an impact on migrant workers' wages and weaken government efforts to boost the agricultural sector, it said.