India Expects 6 MMT Summer Pulse Crop

VANCOUVER - Sep 23/10 - SNS -- Above average monsoon rainfall has boosted the yield potential of this year's kharif or summer season pulse crops in India, according to the first advance estimates from the country's agriculture department.

This year's monsoon is expected to start withdrawing from the country's northwestern regions by the end of the month. It has lingered a month longer than normal in the country, but only delivered 4% more rainfall than usual.

Total kharif season pulse production is forecast at 6.0 million metric tons (MT), up from just 4.3 million last year and well above the recent five-year average harvest of just over five million MT. If achieved, this would be the third time in the past decade summer pulse production has topped six million MT.

In releasing the data, the agriculture department forecast total foodgrain production would likely reach 114.63 million MT, up from the 103.84 million produced in last year's kharif or monsoon season.

Rice production in the country in the kharif season is likely to be 80.41 million MT as compared to 75.91 million MT in 2009-10 kharif. Oilseeds production in the kharif season is likely to be 17.27 million MT as against 15.66 million MT last season.

Cotton production is estimated to be 33.5 million bales, up 9.6 million bales from the last year's estimates. Sugarcane production is estimated to be 324.91 million MT as against 277.75 million MT in 2009-10.