The Foreign Agricultural Service, the US Department of Agriculture revealed crop production estimates of India for the crop year 2019-20. India records increase in crop production due to favourable weather conditions.
Increase in Crop Production
The agency estimated that overall grain production of rice, wheat, and corn up to 295.7 million tonnes. Including the rice production of 117.94 million tonnes from 116.48 million tonnes. Also, wheat production rose to 107.1 million tonnes, up by 3.5 million tonnes. The corn production increased to 28.98 million tonnes from 27.7 million tonnes.
Disruptions Amid the Pandemic
The report further stated that the pandemic disturbed the farm market operations, which delayed wheat harvest for two weeks in March. However, the government made arrangements for the arrival of the product to the market. The farmers had stored the harvest in on-farm storage facilities till then. The market arrivals will finish by the end of June.
The USDA reported that it projected the Indian government to increase its wheat stocks from 53 million to 55 million tonnes as against 41 million tonnes last year. With the onset of the monsoon in July, the stock will be susceptible to damage from rain and adverse weather, pests, vermin, and pilferage. Hence, it requires to be stored on wooden platforms with plastic covers.
Prices to Ease with Arrival of Rabi and Kharif Crops
The Government procurement of rice has also reached a new record of 46.2 million tonnes. Despite the pandemic, the wholesale price of wheat remained steady except for a spike in April. Moreover, the domestic prices fell back to pre-lockdown levels in May. The USDA projects the prices may ease further with the arrival of the rabi and summer rice in the next few months.
Corn Demand Amid the Pandemic
Apart from this, the corn demand estimates are down to 28 million tonnes due to weak demand from poultry farms. The reduced consumption accounts for the reduced use of non-vegetarian food owing to coronavirus fears. Further, the agency said that the crisis had caused significant losses to the poultry industry. Market sources said that the industry could take another six months to recover from the losses incurred since the beginning of the year.
In all, the country has witnessed 10 million tonnes higher crop production than last year’s record.