India has become the world’s largest rice producer, surpassing China, highlighting its expanding role in global food supply chains amid food security and climate concerns. The shift strengthens India’s position in international agricultural markets and its influence as an exporter, state owned Prasar Bharti reported.

India’s rice output has climbed to 150.18mn tonnes, exceeding China’s production of 145.28mn tonnes, according to India’s Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The gains reflect improvements in productivity, supported by advances in seed technology and investment in agricultural research.

India’s Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said the milestone was driven by high yielding seed varieties and progress in farm science, adding that India is established as a major supplier to global rice markets. Higher output has helped stabilise domestic supplies while supporting exports.

A major difference in how India and China handle hybrid seeds for advanced genetically engineered crops is also stark. China has been accused of industrial espionage and intellectual property theft of cutting edge crop seeds developed by Western industrial agricultural giants at great cost.

However India has a reputation for legally licensing these varieties from the Western market instead. Over the past 11 years, India has approved 3,236 high yielding varieties, compared with 3,969 cleared between 1969 and 2014. Newly released seeds are designed to withstand climate stress, supporting long term productivity and investor confidence in India’s farm economy over the medium term globally for investors and markets worldwide.

At an event in New Delhi, the minister launched 184 improved varieties across 25 crops developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The releases include cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fodder crops, sugarcane, cotton, jute and tobacco.

India’s Ministry of Agriculture directed officials to accelerate distribution of the new varieties to farmers to lift yields, improve quality and raise incomes. Scientists were urged to prioritise pulses and oilseeds to reduce import dependence.