Potato yield is expected to go up by 3.4 per cent while a dip is expected in tomato production. Onion production is expected to remain flat at 23.28 million tonne in the 2018-19 crop year. The production of vegetables and fruits is marginally higher this year at 0.6 percent as compared to last year.
According to the agriculture ministry’s latest advance estimate for horticulture production, overall vegetables production is estimated to be around 185.88 million tonne, higher than 184.39 million tonne achieved last year.
As per estimates, the total production of horticulture crops is pegged slightly higher at 313.85 million tonne for the 2018-19 crop year, as against 311.71 million tonne in the previous year.
“As area under horticulture crops has remained broadly at the same level, the higher production owes mainly to productivity gains,” the agriculture ministry said in a statement.
There is an estimated increase in production of fruits, vegetables, spices, flowers and honey, whereas decline is seen in production of plantation and aromatic and medicinal crops from over the last year, it added.
Among vegetables, onion output is expected to be 23.28 million tonne in 2018-19 as against 23.26 million tonne in the previous year. Tomato production, on the other hand, is projected to be around 19.39 million tonnes, which is 1.8 per cent lower than the production last year.
Onion is currently ruling between Rs 50-60 per kg while tomato price lowered from Rs 80 per kg to Rs 40-50 per kg in the retail market.
According to estimates, potato production is estimated to be around 53.03 million tonnes -3.4 percent higher than last year while tomato production is down by 1.8 percent at around 19.39 million tonnes.
Fruits production is estimated to be around 98.57 million tonne in 2018-19 compared with 97.36 million tonne in 2017-18. Spices production is pegged at 9.22 million tonnes as against 8.6 million tonnes in the said period.