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India's castor seed crop for the year 2021-22 is estimated to be at 16.94 lakh tonnes — lower by 62,000 tonnes from last year's estimated output of 17.56 lakh tonnes (lt).
The trade body Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA), in its final round of crop survey, has trimmed the crop estimate by 52,000 tonnes from an earlier projection (in April 2022) of 17.46 lt.
The reduction in crop size is attributed to a nearly three per cent dip in all-India yield to 2,088 kg/ha from 2,152 estimated last month.
Gujarat, the No 1 grower, is estimated to have castorseed output of 14.55 lt against 14.94 lt last year. A downward revision of 49,000 tonnes is made to the State's castorseed crop size.
The crop estimate for Rajasthan is at 1.94 lt, lower by about 4,000 tonnes than the previous estimate. The State’s castorseed output was 2.24 lakh tonnes last year.
The SEA survey, conducted by AgriWatch, reported no changes to the crop estimates for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
While the maximum drop in crop is expected in Gujarat, the survey findings reveal that after fourth round of field survey, the estimated average yield for 2021-22 is revised downward to 2,220 kg/ha against the first estimate of 2,371 kg/ha, a dip of six per cent.
"Major decline from previous estimated yield is reported in Surendranagar, Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. It is mainly due to delayed sowing and higher temperature during March-April," said the survey findings explaining the dip in estimated crop size for Gujarat. Also, for Rajasthan, the dip in output is attributed to change in weather, hot winds and higher temperature.
Total all-India area under castorseed cultivation for the year 2021-22 is considered at 8.11 lakh hectares, against the estimated 8.26 lakh hectares in 2020-21, a two per cent dip over previous year.
Notably, castorseed prices quoted at ₹7,553 per quintal at spot markets in Deesa in north Gujarat. Prices for NCDEX futures for May contract quoted at ₹7,450. The spot prices have gained by ₹405 or about four per cent in past one month from ₹7,152 per quintal.
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