The Agriculture Ministry’s ‘Fourth Advance Estimate’, finalised last week, puts the country’s total food grain output for 2008-09 at an all-time-high of 233.88 million tonnes (mt), bettering the earlier record of 230.78 mt achieved in 2007-08.
The latest 233.88 mt figure is also more than the ‘Third Advance Estimate’ of 229.85 mt and the ‘Second Advance Estimate’ of 227.88 mt, released in May and February, respectively. Much of the upward revision is on account of wheat and maize.
According to the estimate, the rice production rose to an all-time high of 99.15 million tonnes during 2008-09, compared to 96.69 million tonnes in 2007-08. The 2008-09 wheat crop’s size is now reckoned at a new high of 80.58 mt, compared with the preceding estimates of 77.63 mt and 77.78 mt. The reassessment follows an unprecedented 25.14 mt of procurement by Government agencies, surpassing the 22.69 mt that was mopped up from the 2007-08 crop of 78.57 mt.
The output estimates of maize have likewise been raised from 17.04 mt (February) and 18.48 mt (May) to a record 19.29 mt.
Pulses production has been revised slightly upward to 14.66 million tonnes against 14.18 million tonnes in the third advance estimates. Pulses output stood at 14.76 million tonnes in 2007-08 season.
Among oilseeds, the production of soyabean, has been revised downward, while mustard and groundnut output is reported higher than the last estimate.
Soyabean production is now seen at 9.9 million tonnes, mustard output at 7.37 million tonnes and groundnut at 7.34 million tonnes.
According to the agriculture ministry data, the nation is estimated to have produced 271.25 million tonnes of sugarcane and 23.16 million tonnes of cotton bales in 2008-09 season (170 kg a bale).
The government had fixed a target of 233 million tonnes food grains production for 2008-09.
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