Grain output to hit record high

New Delhi: The country is expected to have an all-time record foodgrain harvest of 235.88 million tonne during 2010-11, which is more than 8% higher than last year. The earlier record foodgrain production was at 234.47 million tonne in 2008-09.

The higher crop is mainly attributed to a normal monsoon last year and prolonged winter months. In 2009-10, the foodgrain output dipped to a low of 218.11 million tonne because of drought-like condition across large parts of the country.

Experts say that rise in foodgrain production would help contain food inflation. According to the third advance estimate released on Wednesday by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, a more than 8% rise in the food production has been achieved mainly because of expected record output in wheat, sugarcane and pulses.

This year's record harvest is expected to push the government to liberalise its exports policy, particularly given the foodgrain reserve,...which is well above the buffer stock and strategic reserve requirements. “The government needs to quickly take some measure for lifting export restrictions and create additional foodgrain storage facilities,” Pawar said.

In the foodgrain basket, the agriculture ministry has revised the production estimates for wheat, rice, pulses and coarse cereals. According to the third advance estimates, wheat output has risen by 3 million tonne from the second estimate released in February to a record 84.27 million tonne in 2010-11. The earlier record was 80.8 million tonne in 2009-10.

“This shows that due to prompt measures taken by various agencies, the threat of the dreaded yellow rust diseases in wheat had been curbed,” an agriculture ministry official said. Parts of the wheat crop in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab had faced a potential outbreak of yellow rust, which affects the leaves of the plants and interferes with photosynthesis. has been revised by nearly 1 million tonne from the second advance estimate to a new high of 17.29 million tonne this year. Last year, pulses production stood at 14.66 million tonne. Sugarcane production too is expected to be a record 340 million tonnes against last year's 232 million tonnes. “Rise in foodgrains production has has already started to pull down the rising food inflation graph,” National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research director Ramesh Chand told FE.

Although the latest weekly food inflation figure would be released on Thursday, last week's data put it at 9.5% for the week ended March 19 amid easing prices of pulses. The food inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index had broken into double digits at 10.05% during the preceding week.

According to data released, while rice production has been revised upward marginally to 94.11 million tonne in 2010-11 vis-a-vis the...