On January 20, 2020, According to the State-wise horticulture production data released at a conference organised by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, the state of West Bengal (WB) has been at the forefront of vegetable production in 2018-19 (3rd  advance estimates), where the production of vegetables was 29.55 million tonnes (MT). It was followed by Uttar Pradesh –UP (27.70 MT) and Madhya Pradesh (17.77 MT).
Fruit crops Production:
Andhra Pradesh (AP) continued to hold the top spot in fruits with 17.61MT in 2018-19.It was followed by Maharashtra (10.82 mt) and UP (10.65 mt).
Key Points:
i.West Bengal’s share in total vegetable production is 15.9 % of the country’s total vegetable production.UP accounted for 14.9 % of the total vegetable production, 9.6% of Madhya Pradesh, 9% of Bihar and 6.8 % of Gujarat.
ii.In the previous crop year 2017-18, West Bengal stood 2nd  with production of 27.7 million tonnes. At that time Uttar Pradesh was at the top with a production of 28.8 million tonnes.
iii.The total area under vegetable cultivation rose to 10.10 million hectare (mh)in 2018-19 from 6.74 mh in 2004-05.The area under vegetable production was 10.10 mh in 2018-19.Whereas, area under fruit crops cultivation during 2018-19 was 6.65 mh.
iv.The production of vegetable rose to 185.88 tonnes in 2018-19 from 101.25 mt in 2004-05, while the fruit production accounted 98.58 mt.
About Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare:
Founded– 1947
Headquarters– New Delhi
Union Minister- Narendra Singh Tomar
