The Hindu Business Line : Rabi rapeseed/mustard crop pegged at 62.5 lakh tonnes

A farmer couple harvesting safflower seeds at Sivampeta village in Andhra Pradesh's Medak district. Safflower is mainly grown for oilseeds but earlier, it was grown for the red dye that could be extracted from its florets. The dye is used for colouring in food and textile industry. Now, synthetic dyes have taken over. Safflower is grown in Maharashtra, Karnataka, parts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. This year, its production is estimated at 2.1 lakh tonnes, up from 1.9 lakh tonnes last year. _ A. Roy Chowdhury

Chennai , March 15

FROST and hailstorm have taken a toll of the rapeseed/mustard crop this year, with the oilseeds production seen up marginally only, despite its coverage rising by 12 lakh hectares (lh).

As per the projections made by the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), rapeseed/mustard production is likely to be 62.5 lakh tonnes (lt) against 61 lt last year.

This year, the area under the crop had increased to 71.13 lh compared to 59.36 lh last year.

The production estimated, however, is over 10 lakh tonnes lower than the projections of the Government, which has pegged it a little more than 75 lt.

When contacted, Mr B.V. Mehta, Executive Director, SEA, told Business Line that the association had arrived at the estimates based on feedback from over 1,000 delegates who took part in the 26th All-India Seminar on Rabi Oilseeds crop in Delhi during the weekend.

"Hailstorm has caused greater damage to rapeseed/mustard crop in North India. But for this, the crop could have been 67-68 lt," he said.

"The Government also takes time to come out with final figures. For example, we have estimated the soyabean crop lower at 58.5 lt, while the Government is still maintaining it at 77 lt," Mr Mehta said.

The projections show only a 1.7 per cent rise in the winter output. While groundnut production is seen decreasing by four per cent to 16.2 lt, sunflower output is likely to increase by 10 per cent to 10.4 lt. Safflower production is seen up marginally at 2.1 lt, while linseed may be down by 30,000 tonnes at two lakh tonnes. Sesame seed output could remain unchanged at 2.5 lt.

Overall during the oil year 2004-05 (November-October), oilseeds production is pegged lower at 123.6 lt against 138.9 lt last year.

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Rabi rapeseed/mustard crop pegged at 62.5 lakh tonnes