India is all set to record and unprecedented level of food grain production this year. After record harvest of paddy in India, wheat output estimated at a record 106.21 million tonnes.
Wheat Output on the Rise
According to Second Advance Estimates, the country will produce a record 106.21 million tonne of wheat in 2019-20. Increased acreage under wheat and better soil moisture because of good monsoon contributed to the bumper production.
Agriculture Ministry confirmed that the country received 10% more cumulative rainfall than the Long Period Average (LPA). Further, wheat production has been on a rise on a year-on-year basis. India produced 103.60 million tonnes of wheat in the previous year. Harvest of wheat will begin from March 2020 as we await record food grain production in India.
Increase in Estimates for Food Grain Production
The total area sown with the wheat till the end of January 2020 was 33.61 million hectares. This is 3.68 million hectares more than the previous year. Further, the second estimate of total food grain production is pegged at 291.95 million tonnes for 2019-20, 6.74 million tonnes more than the previous year. Out of this, food grain production for Kharif crops stood at 142.36 million tonnes and 149.60 million tonnes for Rabi crops.
Projection of Other Food Grain Production
The food grain production comprises of wheat, rice, pulses and other cereals. Besides, the ministry has increased projection for rice output to 117.47 million tonnes from 116.48 million tonnes in 2018-19. Also, it has increased cereal output from 263.14 million tonnes to 268.93 million tonnes. Further, the data showed cotton output estimates at 23.02 million tonnes for 2019-20 as against 22.08 million tonnes of last year. While onion production is projected to increase 7% to 24.45 mt, potato can go up to 51.94 mt.
For oilseeds, the ministry has projected an output of 34.18 million tonnes as against 31.52 million tonnes last year. However, sugarcane output is expected to decrease from 405.41 million tonnes to 353.84 million tonnes this year.
Challenges
Storing this much amount of wheat is a matter of concern for the government. The FCI and other government agencies procure only 30-35% of food grain produced by the country. The data reveals an addition of 28-37 million tonnes to the inventories.
In conclusion, though a good indicator, surplus food grain production can cause market distortion due to a lack of proper storage facilities.