India's rice production to reach record high 119.93 million tonnes in 2024-25, says agriculture ministry

India’s rice production during the ongoing Kharif season (2024-25) is estimated to reach a record high of 119.93 million tonnes — 6.67 million tonnes — higher than last year’s output of 113.26 million tonnes, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

The ministry’s First Advance Estimate of Production of Food Grains released the data on Nov 5, which showed a 5.89 % increase in rice production during the ongoing kharif season.

The data showed that the total production of pulses — tur, urad, moong, and other pulses during the kharif season is pegged at 6.95 million tonnes, slightly lower compared to 6.97 million tonnes during the same season last year. The production of tur, urad, and moong is pegged at 3.5 million tonnes, 1.20 million tonnes, and 1.38 million tonnes, respectively.

According to the ministry, the production of maize, jowar, and bajra is estimated at 24.54 million tonnes, 2.2 million tonnes, and 9.37 million tonnes, respectively. While the production of maize and jowar is estimated to see an increase, the bajra output is estimated to be lower than last year.

Although paddy is grown in all three seasons in India, most of it is planted in kharif. With a good monsoon, farmers have planted more paddy.

The area under paddy was 413.50 lakh hectares as on Sep 20 — 2.2 % higher than last year’s 404.50 lakh hectares and 3 % above the normal area — 401.55 lakh hectares during five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23, as per the ministry.

The increase has been reported from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana, Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.
Notably, the record rice production comes at a time when the government’s granaries are full. According to the Food Corporation of India, the rice stock in the central pool was 323.11 lakh tonnes on September 1.

Along with unmilled paddy, the rice stock would be 423 lakh tonnes — much higher than buffer stock norms require. The Centre is required to maintain a stock of 135.40 lakh tonnes of rice as on the first day of July and 102.50 lakh tonnes on the first day of October, according to the official data.