Groundnut production in Gujarat, country’s largest producer, is likely to fall by 44 per cent to 14.3 lakh tonnes this year against 25.9 lakh tonnes last year.

After a three-day crop survey conducted in groundnut growing regions recently, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) said that while kharif groundnut sowing in Gujarat— which produces over 50 per cent of the country’s groundnut — has dropped by about 26 per cent, the yield is also likely to drop by 25 per cent compared with last year.

“Delayed and irregular monsoon has adversely affected groundnut crop in the region. Already, sowing area has declined as farmers preferred cotton over groundnut for better prices,” BV Mehta, Executive Director, SEA, told BusinessLine from Rajkot.

Groundnut acreage in the State has declined from 16.6 lakh hectares last year to 12.2 lakh hectares this year. According to an estimate, around 3.5 lakh hectare of groundnut area has shifted to cotton.

According to SEA estimates, groundnut yield has also taken a beating due to bad weather conditions. The yield may decline to 1,170 kg per hectare against 1,560 kg per hectare witnessed last year.

Last year, groundnut prices had fallen below the minimum support price (MSP) levels of ₹4,000 per quintal. “Farmers made losses as prices had dropped to around ₹3200-3300 per quintal and government’s procurement machinery also did not help,” said Mehta. However, sharp decline in production in Gujarat may not have an immediate impact on groundnut prices as international trends support the prices at present levels. The Gujarat groundnut crop survey was conducted by SEA under the guidance from sector experts including Govindbhai Patel and Vinubhai Patel. The national data on groundnut production estimates will be released on November 9 after completion of surveys in other regions.

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