India to see record kharif output growth, foodgrain production to cross 173 million tonnes

New Delhi, Nov 26 India is expected to post a record growth in production of major kharif crops, with total foodgrain output estimated to increase by 3.87 million tonnes to 173.33 million tonnes, the government said on Wednesday.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan released the first advanced estimates of production of main kharif crops showing kharif rice and maize posting strong gains.

The rice production is estimated at 124.5 million tonnes, up 1.73 million tonnes from last year, while maize production is estimated at 28.3 million tonnes, an increase of 3.4 million tonnes YoY, according to estimates.

Total kharif coarse cereals are estimated at 41.4 million tonnes and pulses at 7.4 million tonnes, including tur (arhar) at 3.59 million tonnes, urad at 1.2 million tonnes and moong at 1.72 million tonnes.

The minister informed that excessive rainfall affected crops in some areas, but most areas benefited greatly from good monsoon rains, resulting in overall good crop growth.

Oilseed production is estimated at 27.56 million tonnes, and soybean at 14.26 million tonnes. Peanut (groundnut) production is estimated at 11 million tonnes, 0.68 million tonnes higher than last year.

Sugarcane production is estimated at 475.6 million tonnes, up 21 million tonnes compared to last year. Cotton production is estimated at 29.2 million bales (each bale weighing 170 kilograms), and production of Patson and Mesta is estimated at 8.3 million bales.

These estimates are based on yield trends from previous years, other ground-level inputs, regional observations, and, predominantly, data received from states. Revisions will be made when actual crop cutting experiment yield data becomes available, the statement noted.

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