Kharif production likely to decline due to heavy post-monsoon showers

The country's kharif food production could be much lower than the Centre’s first advance estimate of a marginal fall. Heavy post-monsoon showers are a key reason.

According to National Bulk Handling Corporation, one of India’s leading providers of integrated commodity and collateral management services, post-monsoon rains was in excess by 32 per cent. In the northwest, 121 per cent so; in central India, 64 per cent excess.

Because of this, it revised its own estimate of October 2019. Now, rice output in 2019-20 is expected to decline by 8.2 per cent over last year and maize by 11.9 per cent. Pulses are