India's foodgrain output to touch new record of 284.83 mn tonnes in 2017-18: Agriculture ministry

New Delhi: India’s foodgrain production is estimated to grow to an all-time high of 284.83 million tonnes in the 2017-18 crop year ending June, driven by record output in wheat, rice, coarse cereals and pulses after a normal monsoon, according to the Agriculture Ministry. Wheat output has been pegged at record 99.70 million tonnes, rice at Rs 112.91 million tonnes and pulses at 25.23 million tonnes for the 2017-18 crop year, it said. The previous record foodgrain output was 275.11 million tonnes achieved in the 2016-17 crop year. The foodgrain basket comprises of rice, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses. In its fourth advance estimate released on Tuesday, the ministry revised upward the total foodgrain production by 5.3 million tonnes from the previous projection of 279.51 million tonnes for the 2017-18 crop year. “As a result of near normal rainfall during monsoon 2017 and various policy initiatives taken by the government, the country has witnessed record foodgrain production in 2017-18,” the ministry said in a statement. [caption id=“attachment_4913731” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Wheat production has been revised upward by 1.06 million tonnes to record 99.70 million tonnes for the 2017-18 crop year from its previous projection. In 2016-17, wheat output stood at 98.51 million tonnes. Similarly, rice output for 2017-18 has been upped by 1.39 million tonnes to record 112.91 million tonnes from its previous estimate, higher than 109.70 million tonnes achieved in 2016-17. Production of coarse cereals has been revised upward by 2.12 million tonnes to record 46.99 million tonnes from its previous projection made for 2017-18 and is higher than 43.77 million tonnes during 2016-17. Pulses production during 2017-18 is estimated at record 25.23 million tonnes, revised upward by 0.72 million tonnes. The output is higher than the previous year’s output of 23.13 million tonnes. Oilseeds output has also been revised upward to 31.31 million tonnes for 2017-18 crop year, marginally higher than 31.28 million tonnes in the previous year. In case of cash crops, sugarcane output has been revised upward by 21.9 million tonnes to a record 376.9 million tonnes from its previous projection made for 2017-18. The output stood at 306 million tonnes during 2016-17. Cotton output has been pegged at 34.89 million bales (of 170 kg each) for 2017-18 as against 32.58 million bales during 2016-17. The ministry releases total five estimates of foodgrain production at different stages of crop growth. The final estimate for 2017-18 will be released along with first estimate for the new 2018-19 crop year. The kharif sowing is underway at present.