Kharif grain output may match last year's 138 mn tonnes: Govt

India's foodgrain production in the current kharif season is expected to remain around the last year's record level of 138.04 million tonnes on good monsoon, Agriculture Secretary S K Pattanayak said today.
He said there is no cause of concern due to floods in some states like Bihar, Assam, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
"Foodgrains production in kharif season is expected to be around last year's level. Crop conditions are good and productivity will be higher," Pattanayak told reporters here.
Asked about floods in some parts of the country, the secretary said the assessment of damage is being done and as per the information received from states, about 38 lakh hectares of land have been affected.

However, Pattanayak said "there is no cause of concern. It does not alter our food production target".
In flood-hit states, he said there is a scope for cultivation of short-duration crop when water level recedes.

On dry spell in some states, the secretary informed that Karnataka has received rains of late and Tamil Nadu gets rain in retreating monsoon.
As per the latest sowing data, rice acreage has gone down in 366.30 lakh hectares of land so far in the 2017-18 kharif season as against 372.03 lakh hectares in the same period last year.
Similarly, pulses acreage area is down at 137.61 lakh hectares as against 143.08 lakh hectares. Coarse cereals sowing area have fallen to 180.60 lakh hectares from 183.44 lakh hectares, while oilseeds acreage dipped to 166.80 lakh hectares from 180.81 lakh hectares till Friday last week.

Among cash crops, area sown to sugarcane has increased to 49.88 lakh hectares so far this kharif season from 45.64 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.
Similarly, cotton acreage has also gone up to 119.88 lakh hectares from 101.72 lakh hectares in the said period.
Total sowing area for all kharif crops was down at 1,028.14 lakh hectares from 1,034.28 lakh hectares in year-ago period.
India recorded a record total 275.68 million tonnes of foodgrain production in the 2017-18 crop year (July-June) on good monsoon.