Sugar output expected to be higher in 2013-14 mkting yr: Pawar

Output may exceed 24.5 million tonnes on hopes of higher yields due to good rains

Sugar output in the next marketing year 2013-14 may exceed 24.5 million tonnes level achieved this year on hopes of higher yields due to good rains, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said today.

      

Sugar output in India, the world's 2nd biggest producer but the largest consumer, is estimated at 24.5 million tonnes in the 2012-13 marketing year (October-September).

     

"Sugarcane crop is expected to be near last year's level. But yields will be better due to good rains. It looks like (sugar production will exceed last year's level)," Pawar told reporters after unveiling the statue of Norman Borlaug, the Father of Green Revolution, at Pusa campus here.

     

Good rains in cane-growing states have improved the crop prospects and yields are seen better than last year, he said.

     

Till last week, farmers have planted sugarcane in 4.85 million hectare, as against 5 million hectare in the same period last year, as per the official data.

     

On other kharif crops, Pawar said the area sown to pulses, oilseeds, cereals and cotton is higher so far as compared to last year.

      

Asked if excess rains has affected the crops, he said, "It has not reached that situation."

      

Speaking after the ceremony, Pawar said, "The statue represents the spirit of this great man in our presence. May it ever inspire us and the young agricultural scientists to carry forward the legacy of Dr Borlaug to use their knowledge and skills for the benefit of agriculture, farmers and humanity at large."

      

The bronze statue, created by American sculptress Katharine McDavitt, shows Borlaug in the field, in his prime, making selections among thousands of wheat lines. The book he carries has names engraved of Indian scientists, who contributed to success of green revolution, he said.

      

Borlaug, who remained ever vigilant against hunger, developed wheat varieties that helped India grow more and come out of the ship-to-mouth situation in food, he added.

     

Wheat production has increased from 12 million tonnes when Borlaug visited India in 1960s to 92.46 million tonnes in 2012-13 crop year (July-June).