India to harvest record rice, wheat crops in 2020

MUMBAI (Reuters): India is expected to produce a record 106.21 million tons of wheat this year, the Farm Ministry said, as favourable weather conditions helped to improve crop yields, with output far exceeding demand and further boosting stocks at grain bins.

Wheat output in India, the world’s second-biggest producer, is expected to go up by 2.5% in the crop year to June, the Farm Ministry said in its second crop forecast for 2019/20.

Rice output in the world’s biggest exporter and number two producer is estimated to rise by 0.9% to 117.47 million tons.

The Farm Ministry forecast this year’s total grains output at a record 291.95 million tons against 285.21 million tons produced in the previous year.

Output of rapeseed, the main winter oilseed with the highest oil content, is expected at 9.11 million tons, higher than a target of 8.23 million tons but lower than previous year’s production of 9.26 million tons.

Production of chickpea, a popular variety of pulses, is likely to be 11.22 million tons against 9.94 million tons harvested in the previous year.

Any increase in rapeseed and chickpeas production cuts imports of expensive vegetable oils and pulses – the commodities that are in short supply in India, the world’s biggest importer of both cooking oils and protein-rich pulses.