Production of pulses, paddy and soybean likely to decline, says Skymet

Private weather forecaster Skymet has said that the production of paddy, pulses and soybean would likely fall, while that of cotton might go up in 2019-20.  In its outlook for kharif crop in 2019-20, Skymet said the rice production is expected to fall 12.4 per cent year-on-year to 88.66 million tonnes, while that of cotton is expected to jump 14 per cent to 34.21 million bales in 2019-20. The soybean output is likely to decline 12.4 per cent to 11.99 million tonnes, while that of pulses may move down by 0.7 per cent to 8.53 million tonnes, it said.  The report further said there are better crop conditions in Gujarat, western Madhya Pradesh, western and northern Maharashtra, and parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha.