Crop Report
Kharif sowing up 3.5% on year at 70.4 mln ha; tur up 73%
This story was originally published at 21:21 IST on 19 July 2024
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--India kharif acreage 70.40 mln ha so far vs 68.03 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif paddy acreage 16.6 mln ha so far vs 15.6 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif pulses acreage 8.6 mln ha so far vs 7.0 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif tur acreage 3.3 mln ha so far vs 1.9 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif urad acreage 1.96 mln ha so far vs 1.99 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif moong acreage 2.5 mln ha so far vs 2.3 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif oilseeds acreage 16.3 mln ha so far vs 15.1 mln yr ago
--India soybean acreage 11.9 mln ha so far vs 10.9 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif groundnut area 3.7 mln ha so far vs 3.3 mln yr ago
--India kharif coarse cereal acreage 12.4 mln ha so far vs 13.5 mln
--India kharif maize acreage 6.8 mln ha so far vs 6.3 mln yr ago
--India kharif jowar acreage 981,000 ha so far vs 1.0 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif bajra acreage 4.2 mln ha so far vs 5.8 mln yr ago
--India kharif sugarcane acreage 5.8 mln ha so far vs 5.7 mln yr ago
--India cotton acreage 10.2 mln ha so far vs 10.6 mln ha yr ago
MUMBAI – Farmers across the country have sown kharif crops over 70.4 mln ha as of today, up 3.5% from a year ago, data from the farm ministry showed. The sowing of kharif crops has begun well as southwest monsoon rainfall has picked up after a slow start. The forecast of above-normal rainfall this season has boosted the acreage of key crops such as paddy, pulses and oilseeds from the previous year.
The area under paddy, one of the main kharif crops, was up 6.7% on year at 16.6 mln ha as of today. The acreage under pulses was 8.6 mln ha as of today, up from 7 mln ha a year ago. Within pulses, acreage under tur surged 73% to 3.3 mln ha from 1.9 mln ha a year ago, the ministry data showed.
The sharp increase in tur acreage is mainly due to the early onset of the monsoon in top tur producing states such as Karnataka. During the last kharif season, the sowing of kharif crops was delayed due to erratic monsoon. This also weighed on production of tur and maize and delayed the sowing of rabi crops as well.
However, the forecast of an above-normal southwest monsoon this year by the India Meteorological Department bodes well for the agricultural sector as most kharif crops are heavily reliant on rainfall. Staggered withdrawal of the monsoon would benefit kharif crops and improve the soil moisture for the rabi season too.
Last month, the government raised the minimum support prices of key kharif crops to encourage farmers to sow more pulses and oilseeds. It increased the minimum support prices of 14 key kharif crops by 1.4-12.7% for the 2024-25 marketing season (Oct-Sep). The minimum support price of tur has been increased by nearly 8% to 7,550 rupees per 100 kg for the upcoming season, and that of urad has been raised by 6.5% to 7,400 rupees per 100 kg.
The area under oilseeds was 16.3 mln ha as of today, up 8% from the corresponding period a year ago. Soybean acreage rose 9.2% on year to 11.9 mln ha. The acreage under cotton was at 10.2 mln ha, down 3.4% from a year ago. Last week, cotton acreage was up 3% from a year ago.
The higher acreage under kharif crops is likely to help the government keep food inflation in check. India's CPI food price inflation was 9.36% in June, higher from 8.69% in May, the latest data by the National Statistical Office showed.
The acreage under maize was up 7.6% on year at 6.8 mln ha as of today. However, the acreage under coarse cereals fell 8.3% on year to 12.3 mln ha. The area under millets like jowar and bajra was significantly lower than a year ago. Jowar has been sown over 981,000 ha so far, against 1 mln ha a year ago, the data showed. The area under bajra fell 27.4% to 4.2 mln ha from 5.8 mln ha a year ago.
The following table details the sowing of key kharif crops, in ha, compared with year-ago levels and the year-on-year change in percentage terms:
| Crop | Acreage 2024-25 (ha) | Acreage 2023-24 (ha) | Change (%) | Normal area for the season (ha) |
| Paddy | 16,606,000 | 15,565,000 | 7 | 40,155,000 |
| Tur | 3,348,000 | 1,934,000 | 73 | 4,555,000 |
| Urad | 1,962,000 | 1,986,000 | (-)1.2 | 3,676,000 |
| Moong | 2,511,000 | 2,276,000 | 10.3 | 3,699,000 |
| Other Pulses | 250,000 | 192,000 | 30.2 | 1,482,000 |
| Total Pulses | 8,579,000 | 7,014,000 | 22.3 | 13,602,000 |
| Jowar | 981,000 | 1,007,000 | (-)2.6 | 1,601,000 |
| Bajra | 4,209,000 | 5,799,000 | (-)27.4 | 7,263,000 |
| Ragi | 170,000 | 169,000 | 0.6 | 1,096,000 |
| Small millets | 234,000 | 217,000 | 8 | 447,000 |
| Maize | 6,778,000 | 6,300,000 | 7.6 | 7,696,000 |
| Coarse cereals | 12,372,000 | 13,491,000 | (-)8.3 | 18,086,000 |
| Groundnut | 3,734,000 | 3,315,000 | 12.6 | 4,528,000 |
| Soybean | 11,904,000 | 10,897,000 | 9.2 | 12,295,000 |
| Sunflower | 57,000 | 42,000 | 36 | 140,000 |
| Sesamum | 561,000 | 715,000 | (-)21.5 | 1,026,000 |
| Castor | 29,000 | 114,000 | (-)74.6 | 907,000 |
| Total oilseeds | 16,311,000 | 15,091,000 | 8 | 19,018,000 |
| Sugarcane | 5,768,000 | 5,705,000 | 1 | 5,115,000 |
| Cotton | 10,205,000 | 10,566,000 | (-)3.4 | 12,934,000 |
| Total | 70,404,000 | 68,036,000 | 3.5 | 109,584,000 |
End
Reported by Anjali Lavania and J. Navya Sruthi
Edited by Vidhi Verma
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