India's 2009-10 wheat output to surpass 2008-09 level

India's wheat output in the fiscal year ending March 31 will likely exceed last year's level, Sharad Pawar, the federal agriculture and food minister said Friday in Parliament.

India, the world's second-largest wheat producer, harvested a bumper crop totalling 80.58 million tonnes of wheat in 2008-09.

In India, wheat sowing begins in October-November and the crop is harvested starting in March.