India to produce record food grains in 2016/17

Workers remove dust from wheat at a wholesale grain market in Chandigarh, India April 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/Files

Tue May 9, 2017

India is likely to produce a record 273.38 million tonnes of food grains 2016/17, slightly higher than the previous estimate of 271.98 million tonnes, farm ministry said in a statement, as ample monsoon rains boosted crop yields.

The south Asian nation is likely to produce a record 97.44 million tonnes of wheat, higher than a previous forecast of 96.64 million tonnes, the statement said.

India's rice production is estimated at 109.15 million tonnes, while pulses output is pegged at 22.40 million tonnes.

(Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Writing by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Malini Menon)