Ministry of Agriculture Releases Second Advance Horticulture Estimates for 2025-26
The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has published the Second Advance Estimates of horticultural crop area and production for the 2025-26 period, compiled from data provided by States/UTs and other government agencies. The estimates show modest growth in both area and production compared to the previous year.
Total horticulture area is expected to reach 301.51 lakh hectares in 2025-26, representing a marginal increase of 0.14 lakh hectares (0.05%) over the 2024-25 final figure of 301.36 lakh hectares. Production is projected to reach 3777.76 lakh tonnes, showing a more significant increase of 70.39 lakh tonnes (1.90%) compared to the 2024-25 final production of 3707.38 lakh tonnes.
Fruit production is expected to show strong growth, increasing by 3.25% (38.26 lakh tonnes) from 1176.49 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 to 1214.75 lakh tonnes in 2025-26. This increase is attributed to higher production of banana, mango, papaya, apple, and guava.
Vegetable cultivation area is projected to increase by 0.75% (0.88 lakh hectares) from 117.91 lakh hectares to 118.79 lakh hectares. Vegetable production is expected to grow by 1.47% (32.04 lakh tonnes) from 2177.97 lakh tonnes to 2210.00 lakh tonnes, with increased production anticipated for potato, tomato, okra/ladyfinger, peas, cauliflower, and bottlegourd.
Specific commodity details show onion cultivation area expanding by 2.31% (0.46 lakh hectares) to 20.14 lakh hectares from 19.68 lakh hectares, while onion production remains nearly stable at 307.37 lakh tonnes compared to 307.67 lakh tonnes in the previous year. Potato production is expected to increase by 2.25% (13.18 lakh tonnes) to 598.89 lakh tonnes from 585.71 lakh tonnes. Tomato production is projected to grow by 4.19% (8.62 lakh tonnes) to 214.61 lakh tonnes from 205.99 lakh tonnes.
Aromatics and medicinal plants show significant production growth, increasing from 9.01 lakh tonnes to 9.76 lakh tonnes. Plantation crops are expected to cover 46.56 lakh hectares with production of 169.34 lakh tonnes. Flower cultivation area is projected to increase by 0.66% to 4.00 lakh hectares from 3.97 lakh hectares, with flower production showing a substantial 7.47% increase to 45.84 lakh tonnes from 42.65 lakh tonnes. Spices area is expected to reach 50.00 lakh hectares with production of 126.55 lakh tonnes, showing increases in garlic, turmeric, curry leaf, and fenugreek production.