June 26, 2007

India groundnut-producing region gets inadequate rains
 

India's monsoon Monday (Jun 25) was covering the western province of Gujarat almost 10 days behind schedule and an industry official said that rains received in several groundnut-producing areas has so far been inadequate.

Gujarat produces nearly a third of India's groundnut output, according to industry estimates. The federal government pegs it even higher, at more than 40 percent.

"Many places in Saurashtra region of Gujarat have received between 1.5 inches (3.8 centimetres) and 2.0 inches of rains that are not sufficient for planting groundnut," said Govindbhai G. Patel, managing partner in Dipak Enterprise, a Gujarat-based edible oils trading and importing firm.

Groundnut is India's most important summer sown oilseed crop. Due to its high oil content of up to 40 percent, the crop's output is an important benchmark that determines the volume of the country's imports of edible oils.