Crop Report
Rabi acreage rises 3.3% on year to 65.2 mln ha; wheat area up 2%
This story was originally published at 20:07 IST on 19 January 2026
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--India rabi acreage 65.2 mln ha as of Fri vs 63.1 mln ha year ago
--India rabi wheat acreage 33.4 mln ha as of Fri vs 32.8 mln ha year ago
--India rabi pulses acreage 13.7 mln ha as of Fri vs 13.3 mln ha year ago
--India rabi oilseeds acreage 9.7 mln ha as of Fri vs 9.3 mln ha year ago
--India rabi coarse cereals acreage 5.9 mln ha as of Fri vs 5.6 mln yr ago
--India rabi paddy acreage 2.6 mln ha as of Fri vs 2.1 mln ha year ago
--India rabi chana acreage 9.6 mln ha as of Fri vs 9.1 mln ha year ago
--India rabi masur acreage 1.81 mln ha as of Fri vs 1.77 mln ha year ago
--India rabi urad acreage 458,000 ha as of Fri vs 488,000 ha year ago
--India rabi moong acreage 85,000 ha as of Fri vs 81,000 ha year ago
--India rabi jowar acreage 2.3 mln ha as of Fri vs 2.4 mln ha year ago
--India rabi mustard acreage 8.9 mln ha as of Fri vs 8.7 mln ha year ago
--India rabi groundnut acreage 352,000 ha as of Fri vs 337,000 ha year ago
--India rabi maize acreage 2.8 mln ha as of Fri vs 2.5 mln ha year ago
--India rabi barley acreage 7.4 mln ha as of Fri vs 6.1 mln ha year ago
NEW DELHI – The area sown under rabi crops across India was 65.2 million hectares as of Friday, up 3.3% from 63.1 million hectares a year ago, according to a release from the agriculture ministry Monday. The acreage under wheat was up nearly 2% at 33.4 million hectares compared with 32.8 million hectares in the corresponding period a year ago. Wheat, the biggest rabi crop, is grown only in the rabi season in India.
The acreage under paddy was 2.6 million hectares as of Friday, an increase of 22% from 2.1 million hectares last year. The area under coarse cereals, promoted as "Shri Anna" by the government, stood at 5.9 million hectares, up from 5.6 million hectares a year ago.
Within coarse cereals, acreage under jowar or sorghum, was down about 5.5% on year at 2.25 million hectares, while maize acreage rose 10% to 2.76 million hectares as of Friday. Area sown under ragi, a millet, increased sharply, rising nearly 39% on year to 97,000 hectares.
The total area sown under pulses in the rabi season stood at 13.70 million hectares, up 2.9% from 13.32 million hectares a year ago. Among key pulses, chana acreage rose 5.1% on year to 9.59 million hectares from 9.12 million hectares, while area under masur increased 2.6% to 1.81 million hectares as of Friday. Urad acreage declined to 458,000 hectares from 488,000 hectares a year ago, while moong acreage edged up to 85,000 hectares from 81,000 hectares.
The total area under oilseeds was 9.69 million hectares as of Friday, up 3.8% on year from 9.33 million hectares. Groundnut acreage rose 4.5% to 352,000 hectares, while area under rapeseed and mustard, the largest winter oilseed, increased 3.2% to 8.94 million hectares from 8.66 million hectares a year ago. Sunflower acreage rose 31% on year to 55,000 hectares, according to the release.
The following table details the sowing of key rabi crops, in hectares, compared with year-ago levels, and the year-on-year change in percentage terms as of Friday:
|
Crop |
2025–26 |
2024–25 |
Change (%) |
|
Wheat |
33,417,000 |
32,804,000 |
1.9 |
|
Rice |
2,558,000 |
2,098,000 |
21.9 |
|
Pulses (Total) |
13,700,000 |
13,318,000 |
2.9 |
|
Chana |
9,588,000 |
9,122,000 |
5.1 |
|
Masur |
1,812,000 |
1,766,000 |
2.6 |
|
Urad |
458,000 |
488,000 |
(-)6.1 |
|
Moong |
85,000 |
81,000 |
4.9 |
|
Shri Anna & Coarse Cereals (Total) |
5,872,000 |
5,593,000 |
5.0 |
|
Jowar |
2,254,000 |
2,385,000 |
(-)5.5 |
|
Ragi |
97,000 |
70,000 |
38.6 |
|
Maize |
2,755,000 |
2,505,000 |
10.0 |
|
Barley |
737,000 |
608,000 |
21.2 |
|
Oilseeds (Total) |
9,686,000 |
9,333,000 |
3.8 |
|
Rapeseed & Mustard |
8,936,000 |
8,657,000 |
3.2 |
|
Groundnut |
352,000 |
337,000 |
4.5 |
|
Sunflower |
55,000 |
42,000 |
31.0 |
|
Other Oilseeds |
40,000 |
35,000 |
14.3 |
|
Total Crops |
65,233,000 |
63,145,000 |
3.3 |
End
Reported by Pallavi Singhal
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
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