September 18, 2006

India sees 4.5 million-tonne rise on year in 2007 wheat output

India is likely to produce around 4.5 million tonnes more wheat on the year in 2007 based on a push to expand both the planted area and yields, Agriculture Secretary Radha Singh said Friday (Sep 15).

"If all goes well, we will be able to increase production by 4.5 million tonnes through measures including better balance of micro nutrients in the soil such as sulphur and gypsum," Singh said on the sidelines of a conference on agriculture.

She said the government is sticking to its output estimate for the current calendar year of 69.48 million tonnes.

India is likely to be the world's largest importer of wheat in the year to Mar 2007 at around 8.5 million tonnes due to a fall in output this year.