India's kharif foodgrain production seen at 98.83 million tonnes

The government has revised the estimates of khariff foodgrain production to 98.83 million tonnes with an expected increase in rice production following widespread rains and an increase in the area under rice.

The ministry of agriculture has revised the (first) advance estimates of rice production for kharif 2009-10 from 69.45 million tonnes to 71.65 million tonnes. Accordingly, the production estimates of cereals and foodgrains also stand revised to 94.41 million tonnes and 98.83 million tonnes respectively, an official release said.

The revision has been made on the basis of reports on estimates of area, production and yield of major kharif crops received from state agricultural statistical authorities and scrutiny of these estimates through field visits to state governments, feedback from other agencies, etc, the release said.

During the review, the government of Uttar Pradesh has reported a significantly increase in the area under kharif rice and better growth of standing crop, following widespread rainfall in the state in August-September 2009, leading to considerable improvement in its productivity, the release said.

The first advance estimates of production of major kharif crops for 2009-10 were released on 3 November 2009.

However, subsequently, in order to further firm up the estimates by taking into account the rainfall during August/September 2009 and the latest crop conditions, the estimates received from state governments were reviewed through discussions, including personal visits by the officials of ministry of agriculture.