India's horticulture output grows 3.2%

Horticulture production in India in 2016-17 has been estimated to be 295.16 million tonnes, over 21 million tonnes more than foodgrains production.

Horticulture production has been about 3.2 per cent more than in the previous year.

According to the government’s second advance estimate of horticulture production, released on Tuesday, the production of vegetables in 2016-17 has been 175 million tonnes, up from 169 million tonnes last year.

Among vegetables, onion production is expected at 21.56 million tonnes, against 20.9 million tonnes last year, while potato production is estimated at 46.54 million tonnes, almost 7.2 per cent more than last year. Fruit production has been estimated at 92.84 million tonnes, 2.9 per cent more than in 2015-16, in which mango production is estimated at 19.68 million tonnes as against 18.64 million tonnes last year.

In 2016-17, tomato production is estimated to be around 19.7 million tonnes, which is 5.1 per cent higher than in the previous year. 

The major tomato-growing states are Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, and Gujarat. India’s horticulture production is consistently surpassing foodgrains output for the past few years.  It is growing at a faster rate than cereals.  Around 60 per cent of gross value added in agriculture comprises cereals, fruit, and vegetables, while the remaining is livestock and poultry.