India expects record wheat and rice production in the year ending in June, according to the latest forecasts from the agriculture ministry.
India is likely to produce a record 117.5 million tons of wheat, the ministry calculated. In March, they expected a yield of 115.4 million tons.
India ranks second in the world ranking of wheat producers, after China, and in the previous year it produced 113.3 million tons, according to a press release from the ministry, published on Wednesday evening.
The producers’ association claims that the harvest was almost 6.25 percent lower than the government’s figures, according to Reuters.
Rice production should also reach a record level this year, since higher prices have encouraged farmers to sow larger areas with high-yielding varieties.
In the year ending in June, the ministry expects a rice harvest of 149 million metric tons, compared to last year’s 137.8 million tons.
The record production of wheat and rice will raise the total production of food grains in India to 354 million tons, from last year’s 332.3 million tons.
A good wheat crop is rapidly replenishing stocks, meaning the subcontinent will be able to cover domestic demand this year without imports.
India is the world’s largest exporter of rice.
