India’s summer-sown rice output expected at record 120 mln tons

India’s summer-sown rice output, which accounts for bulk of its annual production, is expected to hit a record 120 million metric tons in the 2024-25 crop year, the farm ministry said in its first production estimate.
Farmers in India, the world’s second-biggest rice producer, gathered 113.3 million metric tons of summer-planted rice during the 2023-2024 crop year as patchy monsoon rains, triggered by the El Nino weather pattern, dragged down output.
Buoyed by this year’s copious monsoon rains, India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, has eased a series of export curbs imposed last year to ensure sufficient domestic supplies of the staple at affordable rates.
The country’s overall summer-sown grains output is expected to total 164.7 million metric tons in the 2024-25 crop year that began in July, the ministry said in a statement, up from 155.8 million metric tons produced during last year’s summer season.
India, the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oils, is likely to produce 25.7 million metric tons of summer-sown oilseeds against 24.2 million metric tons gathered during last year’s summer season.
Indian farmers harvest nine oilseed crops in a year over two seasons, and soybean is the main summer-sown crop. Soybean output is expected at 13.4 million metric tons against 13.1 metric tons produced during the last season.
Higher oilseed output will help India cut expensive vegetable oil imports.
India currently fulfils nearly two-thirds of its demand through overseas purchases of palm oil, soyoil, and sunflower oil.
Production of summer-sown corn is expected at 24.5 million metric tons, up from 22.2 million metric tons.
A push by India to make more corn-based ethanol has turned the country into a net importer for the first time in decades.
The farm ministry expects sugarcane production at 439.9 million metric tons, down from last year’s 453.2 million metric tons.
India has extended a ban on sugar exports for the second straight year because of lower sugarcane output.
Cotton production is estimated at 29.9 million bales (of 170 kg each) versus 32.5 million bales produced last year.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj, Editing by Christina Fincher)