September 19, 2007

India to exceed oilseed, grain output targets

Helped by decent monsoon rains, production of summer-sown oilseeds and grains in India is expected to exceed government targets, a farm official said on Tuesday (September 18).

India aims for 18.5 million tonnes of oilseeds and 114.2 million tonnes of grains from its summer planting when harvests begin in October. But with the annual June-September monsoon averaged at 102 percent for long-term, the country could reap much more, according to Farm Secretary P.K. Mishra.

The distribution of rains has been the best in recent times as areas under pulses, cotton, and oilseeds have gone up but area under rice has been the same as last year, Mishra said.

With only 40 percent of cultivable land irrigated, the monsoon is crucial for India's trillion-dollar economy particularly on its farm output and rural consumer demand.

Higher output could also trim the need for expensive imports, said Mishra.

The country is the world's second-biggest vegetable oil buyer after China and imports more than half of its annual demand of 11 million tonnes. It has also imported large amounts of wheat in each of the last two years.