Strong increase of more than 128 lakh tonnes in rice production estimate

05-Jun-2024 05:42 PM

New Delhi. Last year, the paddy crop was affected due to the weak southwest monsoon and the Rabi crop also could not get the support of adequate rainfall.

Government procurement of paddy decreased from the previous season and the purchase of rice fell behind the set target.

Despite this, the Union Agriculture Ministry has expressed hope in its third advance estimate for the 2023-24 season that the total domestic production of rice will increase to a top level of 1367 lakh tonnes, which is 128.85 lakh tonnes more than the second advance production estimate of 1238.15 lakh tonnes and 9 lakh tonnes more than the revised production of 1358 lakh tonnes for the 2022-23 season. The arrival of paddy of the extended Rabi season is still going on.

It is worth noting that despite the excellent production of 1367 lakh tonnes, the Central Government is currently not ready to lift the ban on commercial export of 100 percent broken rice and non-Basmati white (raw) rice.

Similarly, the export duty of 20 percent on non-Basmati Sela rice is to be maintained and the minimum export price (MAP) of $950 per tonne fixed for Basmati rice is also to be retained.

Despite the excellent production, there are no signs of a decline in the domestic market price of rice while exports have fallen considerably.