Govt pegs record 119.93 MT rice output for 2024-25 kharif season

New Delhi: India's rice production is likely to touch a record 119.93 million tonne (MT) in the 2024-25 kharif season on good monsoon, according to the agriculture ministry's first advance estimate released on Tuesday.

The record estimate comes amid surplus stocks in government godowns.

Rice production is projected 6.67 million tonne higher than the previous year's kharif season. The harvesting of the main kharif crop is underway across the country.

Among coarse cereals, maize output is estimated at an all-time high of 24.54 MT for the 2024-25 kharif season (July-June), up from 22.24 MT last year.

While jowar production is estimated higher at 2.19 MT, bajra output is likely to decline to 9.37 MT.

Total coarse cereals production is pegged lower at 37.81 MT against 56.93 million tonne in the year-ago period.

The ministry estimates total foodgrain production at 164.70 MT for the 2024-25 kharif season, higher than 155.76 MT last year.

Pulses output is expected to remain almost flat at 6.95 MT compared to 6.97 MT, while oilseeds production is likely to increase to 25.74 MT from 24.16 MT.

India relies on imports to meet domestic shortages of pulses and oilseeds.

Among cash crops, sugarcane production is projected to decline to 439.93 MT from 453.15 MT last year.

Cotton output is estimated lower at 29.92 million bales (170 kg each) against 32.52 million bales, while jute/mesta production may fall to 8.45 million bales (180 kg each) from 9.69 million bales.

In a first, the ministry prepared area estimates using Digital Crop Survey (DCS) data under the Digital Agriculture Mission, replacing the manual Girdawari system.

The DCS covered all districts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Odisha in Kharif 2024, leading to "substantial rise in area under rice particularly in Uttar Pradesh", the ministry said.