Record grain output this kharif season

On the back of a good monsoon, India is set to post a record 135.03 million tonnes of foodgrain production this kharif season, with pulses leading the rally.

According to the First Advance Estimates, pulses production has been pegged at 8.70 million tonnes, a whopping 57% increase over the 5.54 million tonnes achieved during last year’s kharif season.

Farmers are expected to harvest 93.88 million tonnes of rice, a million tonnes more than the 92.78 million tonnes production achieved during the kharif season of 2011-12.

Buoyed by the estimates of foodgrain production, Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh said if the trend continued, India may achieve self-sufficiency in pulses productions in the next two to three years.

State-wise, Uttar Pradesh is pegged to produce 13.2 million tonnes of rice, followed by Punjab (120 million tonnes) and West Bengal (11.8 million tonnes).

Maharashtra leads the pulses charts with production pegged at 1.7 million tonnes, followed by Madhya Pradesh (1.65), Rajasthan (1.4) and Karnataka (0.9 million tonnes).

The overall foodgrain production for the kharif season, pegged at 135.03 million tonnes, marks a 9% increase over the 124.01 million tonnes last year.

The country’s overall foodgrain production (kharif + rabi) had fallen to around 252 million tonnes in the last two years due to consecutive droughts.

Coarse cereal production is estimated to grow to 32.45 million tonnes in the kharif season, from 27.17 million tonnes last year. Among pulses, production of both tur and urad is pegged at a record 4.29 million tonne and 2.01 million tonnes, respectively, this kharif season.

Oilseeds production is pegged at record 23.36 million tonnes as against 16.59 million tonnes last kharif season. Among oilseeds, soybean output is estimated at 14.22 million tonnes this kharif season as against 8.59 million tonnes last year. Similarly, groundnut production is estimated to increase to 6.49 million tonnes from 5.34 million tonnes in the said period.