Govt expects record wheat harvest this year

India's wheat production this year is likely to surpass the previous record of 94.88 million tonne on better coverage and good weather conditions, Minister of State for Agriculture Tariq Anwar said today.
India, the world's second-biggest wheat grower, had produced a record 94.88 million tonne wheat in the 2011-12 crop year (July-June), buoyed by a good monsoon. Poor rains in 2012-13 lowered the output to 92.46 million tonne.
"Wheat sowing so far has been very encouraging supported by good weather conditions.... We will beat all previous records in wheat production this year," Anwar told reporters on the sidelines of an agri-business summit organised by industry body Assocham.

He said there were reports of white rust fungal disease in wheat crops in Haryana. The government has already taken measures to control the spread of the disease.
"We have already given warning to farmers and alerted state governments to take risk management steps," he added.
Wheat is the main rabi (winter) crop. Sowing begins from October, while harvesting from April.

According to latest official data, wheat has been sown in a record 31.18 million hectare till last week the 2013-14 rabi season, as against 29.12 million hectare in the year-ago.
So far, wheat acreage remains higher in Uttar Pradesh at 9.94 million hectares, Madhya Pradesh at 5.78 million hectares and Rajasthan at 3 million hectares.

Wheat acreage remains lower so far in Punjab, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Assam, West Bengal and Chhatisgarh.