Foodgrain output to decline by 5 pc, says Govt

Bad monsoon and untimely rain in the last two months have knocked off India’s foodgrain production by five per cent for the 2014-15 crop year.

According to the third advance estimates, the annual foodgrain production for 2014-15 has been pegged at 251.12 million tonnes, 5.25 per cent or 13.92 million less than the record production of 265.04 million tonnes achieved by the farmers in the previous year.

The Agriculture Ministry said bad monsoon and untimely rain dealt a setback to both the kharif and rabi crop seasons. “The production of most of the crops in the country has declined in 2014-15,” it said.

Rice production is estimated to have fallen to 102.54 million tonnes in 2014-15 against the record output of 106.65 million tonnes in the previous year.

Wheat output is estimated to have declined to 90.78 million tonnes in 2014-15 as against a record 95.85 million tonnes achieved in the previous year. However, wheat and rice stocks with government are 51.17 million tonnes as of May this year, as against buffer norm of 21 million tonnes as of April 2015.

The ministry has revised downwards the production of foodgrains as well as that of rice and wheat from its earlier estimates released on February 18 this year.

Foodgrains output was then pegged at 257.07 million tonnes; rice at 103.04 million tonnes and wheat at 95.76 million tonnes.