Crop Report
Kharif area up 2.2 % YoY at 109.2 mln ha, tur jumps 12%
This story was originally published at 20:53 IST on 9 September 2024
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--India kharif acreage 109.2 mln ha so far vs 106.9 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif paddy acreage 40.9 mln ha so far vs 39.4 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif pulses acreage 12.6 mln ha so far vs 11.7 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif tur acreage 4.6 mln ha so far vs 4.1 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif urad acreage 3.0 mln ha so far vs 3.2 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif moong acreage 3.5 mln ha so far vs 3.1 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif oilseeds area 19.2 mln ha so far vs 18.9 mln ha yr ago
--India soybean acreage 12.5 mln ha so far vs 12.4 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif groundnut area 4.7 mln ha so far vs 4.3 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif coarse cereal acreage 18.9 mln ha so far vs 18.2 mln ha
--India kharif maize acreage 8.7 mln ha so far vs 8.3 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif jowar acreage 1.5 mln ha so far vs 1.4 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif bajra acreage 7.0 mln ha so far vs 7.1 mln ha yr ago
--India kharif sugarcane area 5.8 mln ha so far vs 5.7 mln ha yr ago
--India cotton acreage 11.2 mln ha so far vs 12.3 mln ha yr ago
MUMBAI – Farmers across the country have sown kharif crops across 109.2 mln ha as of today, up 2.2% from a year ago, with notable increases in acreage of paddy and pulses, data from the agriculture ministry showed. Sowing has improved since July due to higher rainfall after a slow start in June.
The area under paddy, one of the most important kharif crops, rose 4% on year to nearly 41 mln ha as of today. Progress in the sowing of paddy and current rice stocks with the Centre have led the government to allow grain-deficient states to buy rice from Food Corp of India through open market sales, without participating in electronic auctions.
Given the surplus availability of rice with Food Corp of India, the Centre has allowed ethanol distilleries to participate in the corporation's weekly rice auctions. Distilleries can buy a maximum of 2.3 mln tn of rice from the auctions.
As of Aug 1, rice stocks with the Centre were the highest since 2005 at 32.8 mln tn. Rice stocks have risen nearly 35% on year and are far above the Jul-Sep buffer norm of 13.5 mln tn--operational stock of 11.5 mln tn and strategic reserve of 2 mln tn. Apart from rice, FCI has 19.00 mln tn of unmilled paddy.
After deficient production last year, the area under pulses was up nearly 8% on year at 12.6 mln ha as of today. Within pulses, acreage under tur was significantly up by over 12% on year at 4.6 mln ha, data from the ministry showed. Experts say good rainfall in the current monsoon season is expected to improve the cultivation of pulses. India is heavily reliant on other countries to meet the domestic demand for certain pulses such as tur and urad. A rise in sowing this year is expected to bring down imports of these pulses, industry officials say.
India, the third-largest importer of tur dal in the world after the US and Canada, imports most of its tur from Mozambique, Malawi and Myanmar.
The sharp increase in tur acreage was mainly due to the early onset of the southwest monsoon in top tur-producing states such as Karnataka. During the previous kharif season, sowing of crops was delayed owing to the erratic monsoon. Tur acreage in Karnataka was up 23% on year at 1.6 mln ha as of Aug 30, the state's sowing data showed.
Similarly, the area under maize in Karnataka was at 1.6 mln ha as of Aug 30, against 1.5 mln ha a year ago. Maize acreage across the country was up 5.4% at 8.7 mln ha as of today.
The area under oilseeds was 19.2 mln ha as of today, up nearly 2% from a year ago. Soybean acreage rose 1% on year to 12.5 mln ha. The area under cotton was 11.2 mln ha, down 9% from a year ago. Groundnut acreage increased over 9% to 4.7 mln ha.
In September, rainfall is likely to be above normal in most parts of India at over 109% of the long-period average, the India Meterological Department said. However, some parts of extreme north India, south peninsular India, and most parts of northeast are likely to receive below-normal rainfall, the department said in its monthly forecast for September. The forecast indicates a higher likelihood of La Nina conditions developing during the end of the monsoon season, it said, adding that there was a 66% chance of La Nina during Sep-Nov.
The La Nina weather phenomenon will set in after a year of El Nino conditions over India. While the La Nina brings good rainfall in India, the El Nino is associated with hotter and drier climate over the country.
The following table details the sowing of key kharif crops, in hectares (ha), compared with year-ago levels and the year-on-year change in percentage terms:
| State | Acreage 2024-25 (ha) | Acreage 2023-24 (ha) | Change (%) | Normal area for the season (ha) |
| Paddy | 40,950,000 | 39,357,000 | 4 | 40,155,000 |
| Tur | 4,578,000 | 4,074,000 | 12 | 4,555,000 |
| Urad | 3,002,000 | 3,171,000 | -5 | 3,676,000 |
| Moong | 3,506,000 | 3,105,000 | 13 | 3,699,000 |
| Other Pulses | 445,000 | 417,000 | 7 | 449,000 |
| Total Pulses | 12,620,000 | 11,739,000 | 8 | 13,602,000 |
| Jowar | 1,518,000 | 1,408,000 | 8 | 1,601,000 |
| Bajra | 6,981,000 | 7,084,000 | (-)1 | 7,263,000 |
| Ragi | 1,078,000 | 873,000 | 23 | 1,096,000 |
| Small millets | 568,000 | 524,000 | 8 | 447,000 |
| Maize | 8,727,000 | 8,286,000 | 5 | 7,696,000 |
| Coarse cereals | 18,872,000 | 18,174,000 | 4 | 18,086,000 |
| Groundnut | 4,749,000 | 4,339,000 | 9 | 4,528,000 |
| Soybean | 12,511,000 | 12,385,000 | 1 | 12,295,000 |
| Sunflower | 74,000 | 72,000 | 3 | 140,000 |
| Sesamum | 1,095,000 | 1,188,000 | (-)8 | 1,026,000 |
| Castor | 747,000 | 903,000 | (-)17 | 907,000 |
| Total oilseeds | 19,240,000 | 18,944,000 | 2 | 19,018,000 |
| Sugarcane | 5,768,000 | 5,711,000 | 1 | 5,115,000 |
| Cotton | 11,213,000 | 12,339,000 | (-)9 | 12,934,000 |
| Total | 109,233,000 | 106,929,000 | 2 | 109,584,000 |
End
Reported by Taniva Singha Roy and J. Navya Sruthi
Edited by Avishek Dutta
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