India's foodgrains output set to touch a new record at 330 million tonnes in 2022-23

India’s foodgrains output set to touch a new record at 330 million tonnes in 2022-23

NEW DELHI: Foodgrains output in the country during the 2022-23 crop year is estimated at a record level of over 330 million tonnes (MT) which is 14 MT (over 4%) more than the output in previous year despite unseasonal rains that hit north and west India in March. Such freak weather did not impact wheat crops much and the key cereal of the foodgrain basket reported a record output of 113 MT.

The overall estimated output is also 2 MT higher than the target set for the year before beginning of the Kharif (summer crops) sowing operations in 2022 that saw good monsoon rains in the country.

The third estimates for the 2022-23 crop year (July 2022-June 2023 cycle), released by the agriculture ministry on Thursday, shows that the paddy (rice), wheat and maize of the foodgrains basket reported record output in the year while pulses and coarse grains (nutri-cereals) recorded higher production compared to 2021-22 crop year.

“The agriculture sector is developing day by day due to hard work of farmers, proficiency of scientists and farmer’s friendly policies of the government,” said agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar while referring to the third estimates.

Though one more estimate will be released for the 2022-23 crop year before the final assessment, the third one generally gives a clear picture of the total output of foodgrains and non-foodgrains crops. Among non-foodgrains categories, oilseeds (nearly 41 MT) — 3 MT higher than the output in 2021-22 — and sugarcane reported record production during 2022-23.

Among two main foodgrains, total production of rice during 2022-23 is estimated at 135 MT which is higher by 6 MT as compared to previous year. Similarly, the production of wheat is estimated at nearly 113 MT which is higher by 5 MT as compared to previous year’s production.

Meanwhile, backed by the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) forecast of “normal” monsoon this year, the ministry has already set a national target of total foodgrains production at another all-time record level of 332 MT for the crop year 2023-24.

The Met department will on Friday fine tune its prediction through a long range stage-2 forecast for southwest (summer) monsoon that may provide a broader insight of geographical and month-wise distribution of rainfall — critical for farming operations — in the country during the four-month upcoming rainy season.