India tops in output of one in eight agri commodities

India tops in output of one in eight agri commodities : The global commodity market catches a cold if India sneezes. Not surprisingly, the country tops in the output of one in every eight agricultural commodities produced in the world.

According to a 2007 data of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, an arm of the United Nations, India tops in the production of 25 of 194 agricultural commodities. China tops in the production of one in four agricultural commodities.

Some of the products in which India tops in output are bees wax, goat milk, castorseed, lemons, banana, mangoes, guavas and mangosteens, safflower, chickpea, pigeon pea and buffalo milk.

Though the data are for 2007, it is unlikely that there will be any major change in the position. The country is the number two in 20 commodities – including wheat, rice, sugarcane, onions, garlic, green peas and cauliflower. It holds the third position in the production of tomato, cashewnuts, linseed, rapeseed and sorghum.

FAr Ahead

In most of the commodities, India is far ahead of other countries in production. The rise in output since 2000 in some crops has led to this position.

For example, the country's banana production is 2.3 million tonnes (mt), far ahead of China's 0.8 mt. In lemons, the production is 2.2 mt against 1.9 mt of Mexico. With a production of 3.89 mt in goat milk, India is ahead of Bangladesh (2 mt).

One area where possibly China could catch up is ginger (0.37 mt versus 0.32 mt). In the case of okra (lady's finger or bhindi), the production (3.28 mt) is more than double that of Nigeria (ranked second at 1.28 mt).

In the case of tropical fruits, India's production of 3.5 mt is 0.5 mt higher than the Philippines (ranked second).

In some of the commodities, there has been a sharp rise in production in the last few years. For example, in the case of wheat, the production has increased from 72.15 mt in 2004 to 78.57 mt in 2008 and 80.68 mt last year. This year, the crop has been estimated at 80.28 mt.

In the case of rice, the output has gone up from 83.13 mt in 2004 to 96.19 in 2008 and 99.18 mt last year. This year, in view of monsoon playing havoc, production expectation is 87.56 mt.

In the case of chickpea ( chana), the production this year is estimated at 7.46 mt against 6.54 mt in 2008 and 5.72 mt in 2004. Pigeon pea ( arhar) production is seen at 2.5 mt against 3.08 mt in 2008 and 2.5 mt in 2004. For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today

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