The Hindu Business Line : Sharp rise in cotton, oilseeds sowing areas

Cotton seems to be the major beneficiary this year in terms of coverage as farmers, enthused by last year's price and yield, are betting their hopes on it. Till June 11, 14.1 lakh hectares (lh) have been covered under the crop, up 38 per cent over last year's 10.3 lh.

The area under cotton in Punjab and Haryana has witnessed a 25 per cent rise during the period. An Agricultural Ministry statement said rice sowing had begun and so far, 7.9 lh had been covered (7 lh last year). Thanks to good rains in the South during May, sowing in Tamil Nadu and Kerala are on in full swing.

Maize is also reaping the benefits of good prices last year with its coverage rising to 4.9 lh (4 lh), while bajra sowing is the same as last year at 4 lh. In all, coverage in coarse cereals is up at 8.3 lh (6.8 lh).

In the case of sugarcane, failure of rains last year is having a telling effect on the crop with the coverage down by 18 per cent to 36.9 lh (44.9 lh). Sowing is lagging even in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where the coverage was expected to rise this year. Sowing of jute is down to 6.4 lh (7.2 lh), while coverage of mesta has declined to 0.36 lh (0.45 lh).

In line with the trend witnessed in cotton and maize, the area under different oilseeds is also witnessing an increase this year. Last year, oilseed growers got a double bonus of increased price and production. That has resulted in the area trebling to 1.73 lh (0.58).

Individually, the area under sunflower and sesamum has increased sharply to 0.36 lh (0.04 lh) and 0.56 lh (0.16). Sowing in soyabean has more than trebled to 0.13 lh (0.4lh), while in the case of groundnut, it has almost doubled to 0.63 lh (0.32 lh). The area under pulses has also doubled 1.33 lh (0.64 lh).Meanwhile, the total stocks of rice and wheat held by FCI and State agencies on May 1 has been put at 31.76 million tonnes (mt) comprising 12.72 mt rice and 19.03 mt wheat. This was more than the buffer norms of 11.8 mt rice and 40 mt wheat.

The procurement of rice as on May 1 was 19.78 mt (14.78 mt). In respect of wheat, the procurement was 14.47 mt (12.28 mt).

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