India's Rice Output Likely To Go Down

A recent report released by the International Grain Council (IGC) has predicted that India's rice production is likely to dip by over 14 %t to 85 million MT in the 2009-10 season due to drought and floods.

Last year, the rice output in India was a record 99.15 million MT. Though production shortages are also seen in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines, the sharp fall in output is expected to be in India, the report said.

The London-based global grain body pointed out that the production fall in India might also bring down the world's rice output by two per cent to 435.1 MT this year.

India, the world's second largest producer of rice after China, harvests maximum of rice crop during the kharif season, which is already underway. The rest is harvested in the rabi season starting from February.