The Hindu Business Line : Coverage of all oilseeds barring soya down

Delay in monsoon coverage in various parts of the country has resulted in lower coverage of oilseeds barring soyabean during the current kharif season. A new trend in the sowing is the increase in the acreage of almost all oilseeds in Rajasthan.

According to the Central Organisation for Oil Industry and Trade, oilseeds have been sown in 168.91 lakh hectares (lh) against 167.50 during the corresponding period a year ago.

However, the rise does clearly portray the real situation. Oilseeds sowing has gone up only because soyabean coverage has increased by 7.28 lh to 94.12 lh this year.

Gains for soyabean have come all the States when it is grown. In Andhra Pradesh, the area has increased by 40,000 hectares to 1.47 lh; while it has gone up to 1.20 lh (1.10 lh) in Chhattisgarh and 80,000 hectares (70,000 hectares) in Gujarat.

Major gains for the oilseed have come in from Madhya Pradesh (51.42 lh vs 48.60 lh), Rajasthan (8.52 lh vs 7.52lh) and Maharahstra (28.66 lh vs 26.09 lh).

GROUNDNUT LOW

Coverage of groundnut, the second most important kharif oilseed, has witnessed a fall in almost all States barring Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

In Andhra Pradesh, the crop's coverage has declined to 13.72 lh against 14.08 lh last year. Similarly, in Karnataka the acreage has declined to 5.84 lh against 7.03 lh and in Maharashtra to 2.25 lh from 3.14 lh. In Gujarat, the area has improved to 17.90 lh from 16.65 lh, while in Tamil Nadu, there is a marginal increase of 5,000 hectares to 1.98 lh.

DECLINING TREND

Sowing in sesame has also been hit with the area showing a rise only in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. In Rajasthan, the acreage has increased to 3.94 lh from 3.32 lh last year and in Uttar Pradesh to 1.76 lh from 1.66 lh.

In Gujarat, it has declined to 2.37 lh from 3.03 lh, In the case of sunflower, the total area has declined mainly because the coverage in Karnataka has dropped to 2.83 lh from 4.93 lh. The area has more than halved in Andhra Pradesh to 53,000 hectares, while in Maharashtra it has fallen by 20,000 hectares to 57,000 hectares.

Castor is another crop that has also shown a declining tendency. Gujarat, which tops in coverage of the nonedible oilseed, has seen the coverage drop to 2.79 lh from 3.14 lh, while in Andhra Pradesh, the coverage has dipped to 1.54 lh from 2.12 lh. However, the area has gone in Rajasthan to 1.07 lh from 65,000 hectares.

MONSOONAL VAGARIES

Soyabean acreage is up mainly in view of the market witnessing higher prices compared with other crops.

On the other hand, the uneven coverage of monsoon, particularly with the South experiencing lower rainfall hasinfluenced the sowing pattern. This is particularly true in the case of sunflower and groundnut in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

In its statement putting out the sowing data, the organisation said oilseeds production was likely to be higher in the new oil year beginning November.

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