India may soon surpass China in vegetable, fruit output: IIHR

With the availability of improved seed varieties, India may soon surpass China as the world’s leading producer of vegetables and fruits, government research body IIHR said.

“There is good scope for raising production of horticultural crops. We are second (in production) after China but we can be a world leader soon,” Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) Director Amrik Singh Sidhu told reporters.

Presently, India’s production of fruits and vegetables is about 211 million tonnes, half the China’s output, he said. Production could be easily enhanced by just stopping the wastage of these items during post-harvest, which is estimated to be 35 per cent of the total production, he added. That apart, Sidhu said that there is huge potential to improve productivity with more than 500-odd improved seed varieties developed by the government research bodies.

Besides seeds, renewed focus on marketing, farm mechanisation and post harvest in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017) is expected to boost production of horticultural crops in the coming years, he said.

The city-based IIHR, which has already released 125 varieties of fruits and vegetables, is also conducting research in developing seed varieties that can grow round the year and help in maintaining supply-demand situation.

At present, the vegetable productivity in India is quite low at about 16.13 tonnes per hectare compared to many other countries, according to the IIHR.