Total area under basmati rice is likely to jump by 40 per cent to 3.5 million hectare in the ongoing kharif season as farmers have sown the premium rice variety in more area in anticipation of better returns.
"Basmati rice acreage can go up to 3.5 million hectare this season from 2.5 million hectare in the year-ago," Agriculture Commissioner J S Sandhu told PTI.
Acreage under the crop is not only expected to increase in traditional states -- Punjab, Haryana, Uttarkhand, Himachal Pradesh and some parts of Jammu and Kashmir, but also in non-traditional states especially Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, he said.
"More farmers are growing basmati rice varieties -- Pusa 1501 and Pusa 1121 -- encouraged by fellow farmers, who got better price last year," Sandhu said.
Farmers had earned three times higher than the support price of Rs 1310 per quintal for common variety paddy during last year, he added.
If such increase in acreage is achieved, the country's total production of basmati rice would touch 8.75 million tonnes this year considering the average yield of 2.5 tonnes per hectare, Sandhu said.
Last year, basmati rice output stood at 6.25 million tonnes and exports at 7 million tonnes, he said.
The expected jump in basmati rice sowing is likely to increase the overall rice acreage in the ongoing kharif (summer) season that began from June with the onset of southwest monsoon.
So far in the kharif season, rice including basmati rice has been sown 33.5 million hectare, slighly higher than 33.37 million hectare in the year-ago period, as per the official data.
Rice is the key kharif crop. The country's 90 per cent of the rice production comes from kharif crop.
