Introduction
India holds a prominent position in global agriculture, especially in cereal production and export, India's diverse agro-climatic conditions and advanced agricultural practices have enabled it to achieve remarkable milestones in this sector.
Major cereals -Rice (including Basmati and Non-Basmati), wheat, paddy, sorghum, millet (Bajra), barley and maize, etc.
Area and Production
As per 3rd DA & FW, during 2023-24 the area under cereal production in India was as in below table (Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfares, 3rd Advance estimates, 2023-24).
According to the Third Advance estimate for the year 2023-24 by the Ministry of Agriculture of India, the production of major cereals like Rice, Wheat, Maize and Bajra stood at 136.7 million tonnes, 112.92 million tonnes, 35.67 million tonnes and 10.66 million tonnes respectively.
India is the world's largest producer of Millets (38.40% of worlds production), second-largest producer of Rice (25.27% of worlds production) & Wheat (13.33% of worlds production) and fifth largest producer of Maize(2.9% of worlds production) (Source: Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO) (Updated as on 01-12-2023)).
Major Producing States: Uttar Pradesh (18.5%), Madhya Pradesh (11.06%) and Panjab (10%), having gone ahead of other producing states like Bihar, Rajasthan, Telangana, Haryana, etc.
| Production in FY24’ (Mil MT) | Area under Cultivation in FY24’ (000ha) | |
| Cereal | 304.36 | 103303.12 |
Exports
According to FAO (2023) India is the largest producer as well as the largest exporter of cereal products in the world.
| Exports FY24 (USD Mil) | |
| Cereals | 10984.27 |
Rice (including Basmati and Non-Basmati) occupy the major share in India's total cereals export with 95% (in value terms) during the same period.
Major Export Destinations (2023-24): Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Benin, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
