Foodgrain output to decline 3.5% on poor rains: Pawar
9 Feb 2013 8:03 AM IST
India's foodgrain production is estimated to decline by 3.5 per cent to 250.14 million tonne in 2012-13 crop year as poor rains have hit rice and coarse cereal crops, but the government said the output will be enough to meet the demand.
The foodgrain production was a record 259.32 million tonne in 2011-12 crop year (July-June).
'We had produced about 260 million tonne foodgrains last year. This year, we have crossed 250 million tonne irrespective of drought in some districts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and parts of Karnataka,' Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said at a conference organised by the National Seed Association.
This year's production is sufficient to meet the domestic demand, he added.
As per Agriculture Ministry's second advance estimate of foodgrain production for 2012-13 crop year released on Friday, the country's rice output is expected to fall to 101.8 million tonne in 2012-13, from a record 105.31 million tonne in the previous crop year.
Wheat output is pegged at 92.3 million tonne in 2012-13, lower from a record 94.88 million tonne in the previous year.
Coarse cereals production is estimated to decline to 38.47 million tonne in 2012-13, from 42.04 million tonne in the previous year. However, pulses would witness higher output at 17.58 million tonne, from 17.09 million tonne last year.
In non-foodgrain category, oilseeds output is estimated to fall marginally to 29.46 million tonne in 2012-13, from 29.79 million tonne in previous year.
Cotton output is likely to fall to 33.8 million bales, from 35.2 million bales, while sugarcane output is estimated to dip at 334.54 million tonne, from 361 million tonnes.
In 2012, monsoon — the life line of Indian agriculture — was below normal in some parts of the country resulting in drought in four states — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
INDIA INC SENDS SOS TO GOVT: BUDGET MUST GO ALL-OUT TO BOOST GROWTH
Worried over the declining economic growth, India Inc today asked the government to take steps in the Budget to boost investment sentiment and give a thrust to the flagging growth.
According to the first official estimate of growth for the current financial year, the CSO has said it would decline from 6.2 per cent in 2011-12 to 5 per cent, much lower than the projections of the Reserve Bank and other agencies.
‘This is the lowest growth in almost a decade. The number is astonishingly low. Several overriding risks continue to remain dominant and it is important that we firm up steps to give a thrust to the flagging growth.
‘The need to revive the investment sentiment has become indispensable,’ Ficci President Naina Lal Kidwai said in a statement.
The foodgrain production was a record 259.32 million tonne in 2011-12 crop year (July-June).
'We had produced about 260 million tonne foodgrains last year. This year, we have crossed 250 million tonne irrespective of drought in some districts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and parts of Karnataka,' Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said at a conference organised by the National Seed Association.
This year's production is sufficient to meet the domestic demand, he added.
As per Agriculture Ministry's second advance estimate of foodgrain production for 2012-13 crop year released on Friday, the country's rice output is expected to fall to 101.8 million tonne in 2012-13, from a record 105.31 million tonne in the previous crop year.
Wheat output is pegged at 92.3 million tonne in 2012-13, lower from a record 94.88 million tonne in the previous year.
Coarse cereals production is estimated to decline to 38.47 million tonne in 2012-13, from 42.04 million tonne in the previous year. However, pulses would witness higher output at 17.58 million tonne, from 17.09 million tonne last year.
In non-foodgrain category, oilseeds output is estimated to fall marginally to 29.46 million tonne in 2012-13, from 29.79 million tonne in previous year.
Cotton output is likely to fall to 33.8 million bales, from 35.2 million bales, while sugarcane output is estimated to dip at 334.54 million tonne, from 361 million tonnes.
In 2012, monsoon — the life line of Indian agriculture — was below normal in some parts of the country resulting in drought in four states — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
INDIA INC SENDS SOS TO GOVT: BUDGET MUST GO ALL-OUT TO BOOST GROWTH
Worried over the declining economic growth, India Inc today asked the government to take steps in the Budget to boost investment sentiment and give a thrust to the flagging growth.
According to the first official estimate of growth for the current financial year, the CSO has said it would decline from 6.2 per cent in 2011-12 to 5 per cent, much lower than the projections of the Reserve Bank and other agencies.
‘This is the lowest growth in almost a decade. The number is astonishingly low. Several overriding risks continue to remain dominant and it is important that we firm up steps to give a thrust to the flagging growth.
‘The need to revive the investment sentiment has become indispensable,’ Ficci President Naina Lal Kidwai said in a statement.
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