India Pegs Pulse Crop at 18.09 MMT

VANCOUVER - Jul 19/11 - SNS -- The fourth crop estimate from India's Agriculture department pegged the 2010-11 pulse harvest at a record 18.09 million metric tons (MT), with total foodgrain production blasting through the country's previous record by almost 7 million MT total 241.56 million.

The 2010-11 pulse harvest estimate includes last year's kharif or monsoon season harvest and this year's winter or rabi season harvest. The latest number is up sharply from the previous 17.29 million MT estimate and well above the 14.59 million MT of pulses harvested in 2009-10.

Looking st other crops, India's Agriculture department said wheat production also set at new record at 85.93 million MT.

Despite a setback in the production of kharif rice due to drought in some of the major rice producing areas in the country, significant improvement in production of rabi rice, wheat, pulses and coarse cereals has resulted in the higher ever production of foodgrains. Estimated production of maize stands at record level of 21.28 million MT which is significantly higher than the earlier record production of 19.73 million MT achieved during 2008-09. The production of nine oilseeds estimated at 31.10 million MT is also an all time record.

Cotton production has increased from 24.23 million bales in 2009-10 to 33.43 million bales in 2010-11.

The production of sugarcane, which had attained a record level of 355.52 million MT during 2006-07 and declined in subsequent years, has again started witnessing increasing trend with an estimated production of 339.17 million MT in the current year.