December 27, 2005

Indian oilseed, wheat sowing up

Area under winter oilseed has increased in India from a year ago, according to the latest government data released on Monday. Total area sown has reached 9.7 million hectares to date, compared with 9.4 million hectares from a year earlier.

Winter oilseeds account for about 40 percent of India's total oilseed output.

India's wheat sowing was at 22.3 million hectares against 21.8 million hectares last year. The country is the third largest producer of wheat.

In India, winter crops are sown from October to December. Harvest begins in March and ends in April.

Higher wheat sowing has been reported from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat. However, the crop's sowing has been relatively slow in Haryana.

In contrast, coarse cereal sowing is flat on year. As of Monday, 6.7 million hectares of land have been brought under coarse cereal cultivation.

Corn sowing is also lower at 662,000 hectares, down from 686,000 hectares a year ago.

Oilseed sowing, with total area under cultivation at 9.7 million hectares, is up 3.1 percent year-on-year.

Mustard and rapeseed sowing is up from the year-ago period, which has lifted acreage of the entire oilseed category. About 7.1 million hectares of land are under mustard and rapeseed compared with 6.7 million hectares a year ago.