May 24, 2007

Nepal's wheat production up by 1.50 million tonnes 

Nepal's production of wheat, the country's second largest major cereal crop after paddy, registered a steady growth of 8.68 percent or 1.50 million tonnes this year, up from 1.39 million tonnes from the previous year due to favourable weather.

The data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) said the increase means that per capita production of wheat has gone up to 53 kilograms per year from last year's 44 kilograms.

The good weather in the mid and eastern terai in southern Nepal and subsequent rises in yield pulled up the overall yield of the wheat, said Hem Raj Regmi, a senior officer at the MoAC.

However, the production fell far short of expectation in the hilly and mountainous districts due to hail and snowfall, the official said.

The rise in wheat cultivation in additional land also contributed to higher overall production with the ministry's estimates of 720,000 hectares of land this year, compared to 670,000 hectares from the previous year.

Wheat plantation season normally begins from November and lasts until December in the country. Harvest comes in April which accounts for 5 percent of the agro-gross domestic product.

During the current fiscal year, total cereal crops production was down by 4.28 percent to 7.3 million tonnes, dragged down by the heavy fall in production of paddy.

This year, the country produced over 12 percent less paddy than that of last year.

Paddy plantation was delayed in many places while farmers could not plant in the 100,000 hectares of land due to the scarcity of rainfall, he said.