The Hindu Business Line : Rabi oilseeds crop prospects fade

The Central Organisation for Oil Industry and Trade (COOIT) said in a statement on Tuesday that there was little likelihood of the shortfall in mustard area being made up.

Mustard area down

“Area sown for mustard/rapeseed this year is 44.26 lakh hectares, a drop of 13.32 lakh hectares from last year’s 57.58 lakh hectares during the corresponding period,” it said.

Total rabi oilseeds sowing as on November 23 was 58.63 lakh hectares, down 16.13 lakh hectares, compared with last year’s figures of 74.76 lakh hectares.

Rajasthan, the major mustard growing State, is short by almost 20 per cent or 5 lakh hectares from its target of 27 lakh hectares. The drop is mainly due to lack of soil moisture required for mustard sowing, as there were no rains in September.

Switch to wheat, pulses

The farmers, after waiting for rains, which did not come, switched over to wheat and pulses (mainly gram), COOIT said.

The rabi prospects come as a dampener after projections of a higher oilseeds crop during the kharif season. The oilseeds crop during kharif has been projected at 168.3 lakh tonnes against 134.5 lakh tonnes last year. Rabi oilseeds crop, according to industry players, is expected to be lower than 100 lakh tonnes.

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