India expects record grain harvest

06 April 1999

India expects record grain harvest

INDIA expects to harvest a record crop of food-grains this year – up more than 4% on last year.

The crop of rice, wheat, pulses and coarse cereals is forecast to total 200.8m tonnes, according to the agriculture ministry.

The ministry believes the winter crops being harvested between now and May will post record rice and pulse production.

Commercial crops including sugar cane and oil-seeds are also forecast to show gains.

The combination of summer and winter crops are estimated to show a record 84.5m tonne rice crop.

Output of wheat is expected to reach 70.6m tonnes, a 7% rise on a year earlier and also a record.

Despite these increases, growth rates are failing to keep pace with population growth, according to the Investment Research and Information Services (IRIS) think-tank.

IRIS estimates that per capita availability of food grains slipped in 1998 to its lowest level in recent years.