World Grain - April 2013 - 22

COUNTRYFOCUS

Key Facts

Focus on India
Country has become increasingly
important in producing and exporting
grain, particularly wheat
by Chris Lyddon

AFGHANISTAN

PAKISTAN

India has become an important grain producer and exporter, particularly when it comes to wheat. Climate change and disease problems, however, pose a combined threat to the nation’s industry.
The International Grains Council (IGC) puts India’s total grain
production in 2012-13 at 134.8 million tonnes, up from 128.6
million tonnes the year before. Wheat production in 2012-13 is
put at 94.9 million tonnes, up from 86.9 million the year before.
Indian maize production in 2012-13 is put at 20.6 million tonnes,
up from 21.3 million the year before.
The IGC put India’s barley production in 2012-13 at 1.6 million tonnes, down from 1.7 million. It put India’s sorghum production for 2012-13 at 6 million tonnes, down from 6.1 million.
India’s total grain exports in 2012-13 are forecast at 10.4 million tonnes, up from 5.5 million tonnes in 2011-12. That ﬁgure
includes a jump in wheat exports to 7.5 million tonnes, from 1.3
million the year before. It also includes 2.7 million tonnes of
maize, a fall from the previous year’s ﬁgure of 4.1 million.
In an annual report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) attaché in India forecast marketing year 2013-14 (April/
March) wheat exports at 8 million
tonnes, including 5 million tonnes of
government wheat.
“Assuming normal weather conditions through harvest (April), the attaINDIA
ché forecasts marketing year 2012-13
wheat production at 92 million tonnes
from 29.8 million hectares compared to
last year’s record 94.9 million tonnes
from 29.9 million hectares,” the report
said. “The government’s preliminary
estimate pegs 2
ti t
2013 production at 92.3 million tonnes,
which is likely to be revised later.
“Despite the delayed announcement of the minimum support price of wheat by the government of
India, the expectation of continued increase over last
year’s high support price provided sufﬁcient incentive to farmers to plant wheat.”
Indian wheat is largely a soft/medium hard, medium protein,
white bread wheat, somewhat similar to U.S. hard white wheat, it
CHINA

NEPAL
L

BHUTAN
N

BANGLADESH
S

MYANMAR

SRI LANKA
K

Capital: New Delhi
Population: 3,316,328 (July 2012 est.)
Religions: Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%,
Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census).
Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and
the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan.
Government: Federal republic. Chief of state: President
Pranab Mukherjee (since July 22, 2012); head of government:
Prime Minister Mamohan Singh (since May 22, 2004).
Economy: India is developing into an open-market economy,
yet traces of its past autarkic policies remain. Economic
liberalization, including industrial deregulation, privatization
of state-owned enterprises, and reduced controls on foreign
trade and investment, began in the early 1990s and has
served to accelerate the country’s growth, which has
averaged more than 7% per year since 1997. India’s diverse
economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern
agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries,
and a multitude of services. Slightly more than half of the
workforce is in agriculture, but services are the major source
of economic growth, accounting for nearly two-thirds of
India’s output, with less than one-third of its labor force.
India has capitalized on its large educated English-speaking
population to become a major exporter of information
technology services and software workers. In 2010, the Indian
economy rebounded robustly from the global financial crisis
— in large part because of strong domestic demand — and
growth exceeded 8% year-on-year in real terms. However,
India’s economic growth began slowing in 2011 because of a
tight monetary policy, intended to address persistent inflation,
and a decline in investment, caused by investor pessimism
about domestic economic reforms and about the global
situation. High international crude prices have exacerbated
the government’s fuel subsidy expenditures, contributing to a
higher fiscal deficit and a worsening current account deficit.
In late 2012, the Indian government announced reforms
and deficit reduction measures to reverse India’s slowdown.
The outlook for India’s medium-term growth is positive due
to a young population and corresponding low dependency
ratio, healthy savings and investment rates, and increasing
integration into the global economy. India has many longterm challenges that it has not yet fully addressed, including
poverty, inadequate physical and social infrastructure, limited
non-agricultural employment opportunities, inadequate
availability of quality basic and higher education, and
accommodating rural-to-urban migration.
GDP per capita: $3,900 (2012 est.); inflation: 9.2% (2012
est.); unemployment: 9.9% (2012 est.).
Currency: Indian rupees (INR): 54.364 Indian rupees equal
1 U.S. dollar (March 2012 est.).
Exports: $309.1 billion (2012 est.): petroleum products,
precious stones, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals,
vehicles, apparel.
Imports: $500.3 billion (2012 est.): crude oil, precious
stones, machinery, fertilizer, iron and steel, chemicals.
Major crops/agricultural products: Rice, wheat,
oilseeds, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, lentils, onions,
potatoes; dairy products, sheep, goats, poultry, fish.
Agriculture: 17% of GDP and 53% of the labor force.
Internet: Code: .in; 6.746 million (2012) hosts and 61.338
million (2009) users.
Source: CIA World Factbook

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