India’s farm yields rise, but China continues to produce twice as much grain | India News

India has the largest cultivated area among the BRICS nations, but its farms continue to produce far less grain per hectare than China, the bloc’s biggest cereal producer, an analysis of data provided in the BRICS Joint Statistical Publication released August 18 showed.Even though India’s yields of major cereals have risen steadily, they continue to lag heavily behind China.India’s latest agriculture ministry estimates put rice yield at 2,915 kg per hectare, wheat at 3,591 kg/ha and maize at 3,824 kg/ha in 2025-26. China’s corresponding 2025 yields were 7,205 kg/ha for rice, 5,940 kg/ha for wheat and 6,700 kg/ha for maize, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. China harvested 660.2 million tonnes of cereals in 2025, more than double India’s 324.8 million tonnes, the publication showed.India has, however, been improving . Between 2019-20 and 2025-26, its rice yield rose from 2,722 kg/ha to 2,915 kg/ha, wheat from 3,440 kg/ha to 3,591 kg/ha, and maize from 3,006 kg/ha to 3,824 kg/ha. Maize has recorded the sharpest improvement, rising by about 27%, compared with roughly 7% for rice and 4% for wheat.But the improvement in yields has not translated into a steady rise in cereal output. The BRICS publication shows India’s cereal production falling from 332.05 million tonnes in 2024 to 324.79 million tonnes in 2025, a decline of about 2.2%. China, in contrast, increased cereal production by 1.2% to 660.21 million tonnes in 2025.While the document provides limited data for other countries, a comparison with Brazil shows Brazil’s 2025 rice yield was 7,234 kg/ha, almost 2.5 times India’s, while its maize yield of 6,364 kg/ha was about 66% higher. However, India’s wheat yield of 3,591 kg/ha was higher than Brazil’s 3,230 kg/ha. Russia also recorded a lower wheat yield of 3,431 kg/ha in 2025.The BRICS publication puts India’s cultivated land at 154 million hectares, compared with 129 million hectares in China, 126 million hectares in Russia and 97 million hectares in Brazil.The issue of lower yields was also taken up at the BRICS Agriculture Ministers’ meeting in Indore in June. The joint declaration listed “low agricultural productivity” among the challenges facing BRICS agriculture, alongside climate risks, land and water degradation, biodiversity loss and supply-chain disruptions. The countries, as per the joint statement, called for cooperation on technology, quality inputs, research, mechanisation, digital agriculture and improved farm-level efficiency.