Comments
Excess rains in the key producing States of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have shrunk the soyabean crop for the 2019 kharif season by close to a fifth, according to the processing industry.
In its preliminary crop estimates, the Indore-based Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA) has pegged the 2019 crop at 89.941 lakh tonnes, with a margin error of 5 per cent. Output during 2019 is about 18 per cent lower over the previous year’s final output of 109.33 lakh tonnes.
“The crop is badly affected by about 15 to 30 per cent in the low-lying areas of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan due to water logging,” SOPA said in a statement. Output in Maharashtra, the second largest producer, has seen a 6 per cent increase on a rise in acreage. The average yield for 2019 is estimated at 836 kg/hectare as against 1,009 kg/hectare during the year 2018.
SOPA has estimated the acreage under soyabean at 107.613 lakh hectares, marginally lower than last year’s 108.396 lakh ha. SOPA’s acreage estimates, which were carried out using satellite images in about 47 districts, was lower than the Agriculture Ministry’s figures of 113.988 lakh hectares.
SOPA officials had carried out a crop survey during the last week of September and the first week of October across 51 districts where the oilseed is grown. The survey included a limited crop cutting experiment, interaction with farmers, traders and a visit to mandis. In M.P., the crop is seen dropping by 31 per cent at 40.10 lakh tones over last year’s 58.18 lakh tonnes. Acreage was lower in MP by 4 per cent at 51.95 lakh ha as against last year’s 54.10 lakh ha. The main districts affected by heavy rains in M.P. include Mandsaur, Neemuch and Ratlam.
Similarly in Rajasthan, the crop suffered extensive damage due to heavy rains in Baran, Pratapgarh and Jhalawar districts. In Rajasthan, the production is seen lower at 6.5 lakh tonnes (8.94 lakh tonnes last year)
In Maharashtra, the soyabean crop did face moisture stress due to weak rainfall in districts such as Latur, Beed and Osmanabad. Output in Maharashtra is seen higher at 36.295 lakh tonnes (34.34 lakh tonnes) on a marginal increase in acreage at 37.36 lakh ha (36.39 lakh ha)
Production is seen lower in other States such as Telangana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat, among others.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.