India’s Agricultural GDP Estimated to Grow by 4.6% this Year

On Monday, India’s Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram reported that this fiscal year, India’s agricultural GDP should increase by 4.6%. During an Interim Budget speech addressing the fiscal years of 2014-2015 budget, Minister Chidambaram said that this year’s foograin production should reach 263 million tons, compared to 255 million tons last year.

“We are proud of the stellar performance of the agriculture sector,” Minister Chidambaram said. “Estimates of production of sugarcane, cotton, pulses, and oilseeds and quality seeds point to new records.”

While much of the headline buzz is focused on the minister’s decision to nix “excise duty,” or the heavy-handed tax for cars, SUVs and motorcycles, many are talking about the resulting good news for India’s agriculture industry. Indian foodgrain production in the 2012-2013 fiscal year led to a 41 billion USD export, surpassing the 20 billion USD worth of imports. This year, Chidambaram says he expects exports of foodgrain to value at 45 billion USD.

To read the full speech, click here.

FEATURED PHOTO: Sankara Subramanian/Flickr