Govt official sees India year to Jun basmati acreage rising 25%.

The area under basmati rice across India is expected to rise 25% on year to 2 million haactare in 2017-18 (Jul-Jun), as higher realisations have encouraged farmers to cultivate more grain. If the weather and other growing conditions remain favourable, the output might also rise. Basmati rice production in India is estimated to have fallen 23% on year to 6.2 million tonne in 2016-17. Due to shortage of supplies, prices have risen nearly 20% in the last three months. India non-basmati rice output in 2016-17 (Jul-Jun) is estimated at a record high of 103 million tonne.