NEW DELHI: Food production for 2022-23 is projected to have increased by 4.4 per cent compared to the previous year. As per the government’s final estimates, the current year food output, estimated at record 3,296.87 lakh tonne (LT), is 140.71 LT higher than in 2021-22. It also exceeds the previous five years’ average output.
Rice output and wheat production have registered a sharp increase despite inclement weather. Total production of rice during 2022-23 is estimated at record 1,357.55 LT, up by 62.84 lakh tonne than in the previous year. Last five-year average production is 1,203.90 LT.
A similar trend is seen in wheat production. Total wheat output is estimated at a record 1,105.54 lakh tonne, an increase of 28.12 lakh tonne compared to 2021-22 figure of 1,077.42 lakh tonne. Production of nutri/coarse cereals is estimated at 573.19 lakh tonne, higher by 62.18 lakh tonne from last year. Production of Shree Anna is seen at 173.20 lakh tonne.
Total pulses production is projected at 260.58 lakh tonne. Oilseeds output is estimated at record 413.55 lakh tonne, a rise of 33.92 lakh tonne from 2021-22 production level. Among non-food crops, except Jute and mesta, other crops like sugarcane and cotton registered a rise. Sugarcane output is projected at 4,905.33 lakh tonne, an increase of 511.08 lakh tonne than in the previous year. Cotton production is seen at 336.60 lakh bales (of 170 kg each).
Jute and Mesta outputs were estimated at 93.92 lakh bales (of 180 kg each). Meanwhile, India’s horticulture production is estimated to have risen annually by 1.37 per cent to 351.92 million tonne in 2022-23 due to better productivity, according to the second advance estimates released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare on the area and production of various horticultural crops for 2022-23.
According to this estimate, total horticulture production in the country is expected to be a record 351.92 million tonne in 2022-23, with an increase of about 4.74 million tonne (1.37 per cent) as compared to the previous year. Production of fruits, vegetables, plantation crops, flowers and honey is expected to increase. “Fruit production is estimated to be 108.34 million tonne in 2022-23 against 107.51 million tonne in 2021-22. The production of vegetables is estimated to be 212.91 million tonne in 2022-23,” it said.