Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that as per second Advance Estimates (2022-23), production of foodgrains in the country is estimated at 3,235 lakh tonne, which is higher by 79 lakh tonne than the production of foodgrains during 2021-22. Record production of rice, maize, gram, pulses, rapeseed and mustard, oilseeds and sugarcane is estimated.  Total production of sugarcane in the country during 2022-23 is estimated at record 4,688 lakh...

Reuters India's wheat plantings remained steady despite a rally in price of the staple to a record as farmers in a key producing central state shifted to rapeseed (mustard) to take advantage of even higher prices for the oilseed, farm ministry data showed on Monday. A lower-than-expected planting area in the world's second biggest wheat producer may cap an expected rise in production, after output fell last year because of a heatwave...

-Financial Express Higher sowing augurs well for bountiful wheat and oilseed production The resilience of India’s agricultural sector has been a positive factor in the India growth story. During the ongoing rabi season, the average area sown for wheat is up by 25%, to 25.5 million hectares as of December 9, from a year earlier. Area under oilseeds, too, is at record levels. All of this augurs well for bumper rabi crops...

-Business Standard Claims that GM mustard will lead to increased yield are incorrect; we must focus on other solutions. India is the fifth-largest producer and also the seventh-largest importer of edible oils in the world. Though significant progress has been made in the production and yield of oilseeds in India, our annual vegetable oil import has been about $10 billion in recent years. The Ministry of Environment is allowing for genetically modified...

There is some respite expected for India in terms of prices of imported commodities. This may ease the depletion of its foreign exchange reserves. The country has faced a widening of its merchandise trade deficit from US$ -17.91 billion to US$ -26.91 billion between October 2021 and October 2022. The commodity price data provided by the World Bank in December 2022 (termed as The Pink Sheet) shows that energy prices plummeted by...