By Sameer Mohindru and Mukesh Jagota

  Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES


  NEW DELHI (Dow Jones)--India's rice output from summer 2007 plantings has
failed to show any major gains over last year because of drought and floods.

  Output of summer-sown rice, India's staple crop, is estimated at 80.15
million metric tons, little changed from 80.11 million tons in 2006. Rice
production is crucial because it is increasingly a substitute for wheat in the
federal government's subsidized foodgrains sales programs. Government has
curtailed wheat imports by supplying more rice.

  Cultivation in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal
- five provinces that produce close to half of the country's rice - has been
hit by unfavorable weather conditions,

  To grapple with static rice production the government has launched a
multi-billion-rupee program aimed at increasing output by 10 million tons by
2012.

  "Rice production has been hit mainly because of unremunerative prices, a weak
irrigation network and poor quality seed," said P. Chengala Reddy, chairman of
the Indian Farmers and Industry Alliance.

  He said government figures show rice output as static because farmers in
several regions don't have irrigation facilities to compensate for deficient
rainfall.

  The problem is particularly acute in some parts of the northern province of
Uttar Pradesh that are reeling from  drought while others have suffered
flooding.

  "Seven districts in Bundelkhand region in particular are  facing water and
moisture stress," said the state's Agriculture Production Commissioner Anis
Ansari.

  The area under rice is estimated at 5.7 million hectares, down from 5.9
million hectares a year earlier.

  Rains in the province were around 25% below average in June, 17.6% down in
July and nearly 40% below average in August despite floods in 18 districts.

  In West Bengal - one of India's largest rice producing province by volume -
crop conditions in the southern part of the province were hit because of near
flood-like conditions during the whole of July.

  The provincial government said more than 350,000 hectares of the area
normally under rice hasn't been cultivated this year.

  India's total foodgrain output from summer plantings is estimated at 112.24
million tons, well below the targeted 114.20 million tons, because the rice
crop is expected to be lower than earlier anticipated.

   Oilseed Growing Regions Received Adequate Rains


  India's summer-sown oilseeds output is projected at 16.1 million tons, up
from 13.9 million tons a year earlier.

  "Oilseeds growing areas have received adequate rains, well distributed in
time and space," said P.K. Mishra, federal agriculture secretary.

  He said there has been a significant increase in oilseeds acreage over last
year.

  Soybean output is expected to reach an all-time high of 9.04 million tons, up
from 8.85 million tons a year earlier. However, industry officials said the
increase in oilseeds output is unlikely to prevent a rise in edible oil
imports.

  "Oilseeds output suffered last year due to adverse weather conditions and has
now recovered to reach normal levels. There is hardly any incremental gain
above the usual output," said B.V. Mehta, executive director, Solvent
Extractors Association.

  He said India's edible oil imports will rise to at least 5.2 million tons in
the next marketing year that begins in November from the projected 4.8 million
tons in 2006-07.

  India's demand for edible oils is rising by more than  600,000 tons a year,
he said.

  Mehta said most gains in oilseeds output are soybean which has only an 18%
oil content in comparison with groundnut which has more than 40%.

  Groundnut output from summer plantings is currently estimated at 5.18 million
tons, up from 3.28 million tons in 2006. Groundnut is India's most important
summer-sown oilseed in terms of volume produced and oil content.

  Mehta said any increase in groundnut output is only notional because volumes
produced last year were exceptionally low.