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`India may have to import rice'
REUTERS
Cebu, Philippines, Oct 31: India's growing population may force the country to become a net importer of rice in the next five to 10 years if local production remains at current levels, an executive in one the country's mills said. "We see a scenario whereby we will be importing (low-grade rice) and exporting premium quality," Dipak Tanna, managing director of Tanna Agro Impex, said. Tanna said India's population of around one billion was growing at the rate of 1.7 per cent annually. "Even at the current level of 85 kg per capita consumption, the country needs to produce about 1.5 million tonne of additional rice year after year," he added. India harvests about 125 million tonne of unhusked rice each year, making it the second biggest producer in the world next to China. Rice farming land covers about 43 million hectares (106 million acres) across the country. However, the country's average rice yield of 1.9 tons per hectare each year is way below the yield of other Asian exporters. "India is way behind China,Vietnam and the United States in paddy productivity," Tanna said."But scope for yield improvement exists. The government strategy for raising rice productivity envisages enhanced usage of fertilisers, apart from inputs such as high yielding variety seeds," Tanna said. "They are focusing on four states in the eastern region where the yields are exceptionally low," he said. The four states--Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Assam--account for 40 per cent of India rice farming land. "Even if they (will) just bring the yield to the national average of 1.9 tons per hectare that can itself produce an additional 11 million tons in the four states," Tanna said. Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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