Wheat is the second most important crop in India next to rice. This food grain of the country is actually the staple food of the people of north-western India. The country's wheat production may cross 90 million tonnes (mt), to hit an all-time high for the 2011-12 crop year, due to favorable weather conditions. A huge portion of the total cropped area in the country is under the production of wheat crop. It is also said that as a food, wheat is more nutritive as compared to the other cereals. The gluten present in wheat determines its chapatti making quality. Hard varieties of wheat are richer in gluten. In India, generally hard varieties of wheat are grown as most of the wheat grown in the country is consumed in the form of chapattis.
Wheat is one of the oldest crops introduced in India at least four thousand years ago from the Middle East that is mainly East Mediterranean and West Asia. It does well on the loamy soils of Northern plains covering Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. It also grows well in the black soils of Madhya Pradesh. The small areas expand towards the rest of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. It is, however, fundamentally a crop of north India.
Wheat requires a cool and wet climate during the growing season and a dry warm climate at the time of ripening. A yearly rainfall of 50 to 75 cm is usually prefect. All these essentials make it a superlative Rabi crop. A few spell of winter showers or guaranteed irrigation, ensures an abundant harvest. Unlike the rice crop, it is not so much at the mercy of forces of nature. It also prefers clayey alluvial soils. And in India, wheat is mainly grown in those areas, which receive less than 100 cm per year. At the time of sowing of this crop, adequate moisture in the soil is required. Wheat is sown in moderately large areas during that time of the year when a few showers of rain fall before it is sown.
Wheat basically needs to be irrigated for around seven times during its growing period if it rains. Moreover, bright sunshine during the ripening period increases its yield. Warm and dry weather facilitates harvesting of the crop. In India, it has been observed that the climatic conditions required for the growth of wheat are below optimum. Besides relatively poor climatic conditions, poor supplies of fertilizers, inadequate irrigation and shortage of electricity and diesel oil adversely affect the production of wheat. Thus, India is not ideally suited for wheat cultivation because of short and moderately dry and warm winter season.
RICE
Rice is one of the chief grains of India. Moreover, this country has the biggest area under rice cultivation, as it is one of the principal food crops. It is in fact the dominant crop of the country. India is one of the leading producers of this crop. Rice is the basic food crop and being a tropical plant, it flourishes comfortably in hot and humid climate. Rice is mainly grown in rain fed areas that receive heavy annual rainfall. That is why it is fundamentally a kharif crop in India. It demands temperature of around 25 degree Celsius and above and rainfall of more than 100 cm. Rice is also grown through irrigation in those areas that receives comparatively less rainfall. Rice is the staple food of eastern and southern parts of India. In 2009-10, total rice production in India amounted to 89.13 million tonnes, which was much less than production of previous year, 99.18 million tonnes.
India is one of the world's largest producers of white rice, accounting for 20% of all world rice production. Rice is India's preeminent crop, and is the staple food of the people of the eastern and southern parts of the country. Production increased from 53.6 million tons in FY 1980 to 74.6 million tons in FY 1990, a 39 percent increase over the decade. By FY 1992, rice production had reached 111 million tons, second in the world only to China with its 182 million tons. Since 1950 the increase has been more than 350 percent. Most of this increase was the result of an increase in yields; the number of hectares increased only 40 percent during this period. Yields increased from 1,336 kilograms per hectare in FY 1980 to 1,751 kilograms per hectare in FY 1990. The per-hectare yield increased more than 262 percent between 1950 and 1992.
The country's rice production declined to 89.13 million tonnes in 2009-10 crop year (July-June) from record 99.18 million tonnes in the previous year due to severe drought that affected almost half of the country. India could achieve a record rice production of 100 million tonnes in 2010-11 crop year on the back of better monsoon this year.
SUGAR
Sugar has been produced in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. It was not plentiful or cheap in early times—honey was more often used for sweetening in most parts of the world.
Amongst the ancient manuscripts of China, dated to be from the eighth century BC, one of the earliest historical mentions of sugar cane is included along with the fact that their knowledge of sugar cane was derived from India. It appears that in about 500 BC, residents of present-day India began making sugar syrup and cooling it in large flat bowls to make crystals that were easier to store and transport. In the local Indian language, these crystals were called khanda (खण्ड), which is the source of the word candy.
We are the trader for sugar with very vast domestic network and we also have clientele in global market.
Sugar is mainly sucrose and it is practically a source of calorie/energy. It is present in seed grains and roots as wheat, rice, potatoes and is also found in fruits honey, sugarcane, beets, milk etc. Sugar is chemically as a simple Carbohydrate as glucose, sucrose, lactose and complex as starch, cellulose, fibers etc. It contains nutritional value of 99.4% of carbohydrate, 0.1% protein, 0.1% minerals and 0.4% of moisture. The main function of sugar is to supply energy. Without energy we cannot live and it is the fuel of life. Low intake of sugar is associated with weight loss and high intake of sugar is associated with obesity and other health problems. Hence, moderate intake of sugar is recommended.
Sugar Industry in India is the second largest agro-based industry in the country next to cotton textiles. The Indian Sugar Industry is playing a pivotal role in rural development, supporting over about 50 million sugarcane farmers, their dependents and a large mass of agricultural laborers involved in sugarcane cultivation, harvesting, machine manufacturing etc. of almost 671 sugar mills and ancillary activities, constituting some 7.5% of the rural population. In addition, about 0.5 million skilled and semiskilled workers, mostly from the rural areas are engaged in the sugar industry. Thus, the sugar industry has been a focal point for socio-economic development in the rural areas by mobilizing rural resources, generating employment & higher income, besides giving a fillip to transport and communication facilities.
Sugar Industry in India has come a long way from its inception in the 1930s. In 1950, there were 139 sugar factories in the country with an annual installed capacity of 16.7 lakh tonnes and now the country has about 671 sugar factories(including closed ones) with an annual sugar production of 241 lakh tonnes. India has 20% of the total sugar mills in the world and accounts for about 15% of the global production
The country's rice production declined to 89.13 million tonnes in 2009-10 crop year (July-June) from record 99.18 million tonnes in the previous year due to severe drought that affected almost half of the country. India could achieve a record rice production of 100 million tonnes in 2010-11 crop year on the back of better monsoon this year.
PULSES
India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world. India produces a quarter of the world’s pulses, accounting for one third of the total acreage under pulses. Indians consume 30 per cent of the world’s pulses, but domestic production of pulses has not kept pace with population growth.
Pulses production has grown at only a 1 per cent CAGR from 1951–2008, compared to a population growth of about 2 per cent during the same period.
Source: Department of Agriculture & Cooperation
Low productivity
The productivity of pulses has been very low in India, with 45 per cent cumulative growth between FY 1951–2008, compared to the productivities of wheat and rice, which have grown manifold, at 320 and 230 per cent, respectively, during the same period. Also, the area under pulses has grown at 25 per cent during this period, a much lower rate than that for other food grains.
Source: Department of Agriculture & Cooperation
Chickpeas (chana), pigeonpeas (arhar / toor dal), urad beans (urad dal), mung beans (moong) and red lentils (masoor) are the top five pulses grown in India and account for over 80 per cent of the total pulses production in the country. Over 60 per cent of pulses produced in India are grown during the rabi season.
Source: Department of Agriculture & Cooperation
Pulse-producing states The top five states, which are Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, account for over 75 per cent of total production. Madhya Pradesh is the highest pulse-producing state (3.2 million tonnes/annum) followed by Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. In terms of productivity,Haryana had the highest yield,at 824 kg/ ha, in 2007, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Source: Department of Agriculture & Cooperation
Dependence on imports
Imports of pulses in India have been increasing and currently account for about 15–20 per cent of total domestic availability.
Canada and Myanmar are the major exporters to India. India imports white peas, green peas (dried) from Canada and the US, while Myanmar supplies several pulse varieties similar to India’s own domestic produce, mostly urad beans, mung beans and pigeon peas. India also imports dried peas and chickpeas from Australia, chickpeas from Tanzania, dry peas from France and red kidney beans from China. A split of the various pulse types imported shows that India imports a large quantity of dry peas, which contributes to almost 70 per cent of India’s supply.
Source: Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Directorate General of Foreign Trade
Source: Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Directorate General of Foreign Trade
Chana
Desi Chana ( Chickpeas - Brown)
Kabuli Chana(Chickpeas - White )
Imported Chana
Peas
Yellow Peas
Green Peas
Pigeon Peas
Lentils
Yellow Lentils or Toor
White Lentils
Split Black Lentils
Black Lentils
Brown Lentils
Red Lentils or Masoor
Green Lentils
Beans
Red Kidney Beans or Rajma
Yellow Beans or Snap Beans
White Beans
Black matpe Beans or Udad
Green Beans
OILS
Edible oils constitute an important component of food expenditure in Indian households. Historically, India has been a major importer of edible oils with almost 30-40% of its requirements being imported till 1980s. In 1986, the Government of India established the Technology Mission on Oilseeds and Pulses (TMOP) in order to enhance the production of oilseeds in the country. The TMOP launched special initiatives on several critical fronts such as improvement of oilseed production and processing technology; additional support to oilseed farmers and processors besides enhanced customs duty on the import of edible oils. Consequently, there was a significant increase in oilseeds area, production, and yields until the late-1990s.
However, in order to fulfill its obligations towards various international trade agreements and also meet the increasing demand-supply deficits, India began to reduce import restrictions on edible oils in the late 1990s; and it was gradually brought under Open General License. This led to a significant slump in the domestic oil seeds market, as edible oil prices fell sharply in line with the low international prices prevailing at that time. Subsequently, the duty structure was modified so as to maintain a duty differential between crude and refined varieties in order to protect the domestic industry.
Nevertheless, due to high import dependence, domestic edible oil prices remain highly correlated to international edible oil price movement, and this has resulted in volatility in the key credit metrics of rated edible oil companies. At the same time, ICRA notes that edible oil companies with benefits of large-scale integrated operations, multi-product offerings and recognizable branded presence in retail markets have fared better as compared to small/medium-scale domestic oilseed crushers.
