September 24, 2011

 

India's 2011-12 summer-sown oilseed output may grow 5%

 

India's summer-sown oilseeds production is expected to rise about 5% in the crop year starting October 1, as good rains have improved yield in major producing regions.

 

Total summer-sown oilseeds output is forecast at 15.29 million tonnes next year, compared with 14.58 million tonnes this year, said Govindbhai Patel, managing partner of Dipak Enterprises and an expert on the vegetable oil industry.

 

The output estimate is far lower than the government's estimate of 20.89 million tonnes.

 

The country's key oilseeds-growing provinces, including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, have all received good monsoon rains. India has received monsoon rains 4% above average so far this year.

 

Patel said higher oilseeds production is unlikely to reduce imports of edible oil.

 

India, the world's top edible oil importer, buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and soyoil mostly from Brazil and Argentina.

 

Edible oil imports in 2011-12 are likely to rise 11% to 9.23 million tonnes, Patel said, adding that vegetable oil imports - which include non-edible oil - are expected at 9.5 million tonnes during the period.

 

Among oilseeds, production of soy, the largest summer-sown oilseed crop, is likely to increase 6% to 10.4 million tonnes in 2011-12, he said.

 

While the area under the crop has increased by about one million hectares, prolonged rains in Madhya Pradesh could cut down yields and the final output of the country's largest producing state may decline by 100,000 tonnes to 5.7 million tonnes.

 

Patel said harvesting of summer-sown crops - which normally starts in October - may be delayed by two to three weeks.

 

Good rains and better soil moisture are also likely to help the winter-sown crops, which may increase about 6% to 10 million tonnes, Patel said.

 

Production of rapeseed, the main winter-sown crop, is likely to rise to seven million tonnes from 6.7 million tonnes this year, he added.