Good monsoon this year may yield a bumper kharif crop
Kharif sowing has made steady progress this year on the back of a good monsoon, raising prospects of a bumper crop. Rice, oilseeds and cotton, among other major crops, had been sown across
75 million hectares as on July 26 - up 18 per cent over the area
cultivated last year.
Rice planting in West Bengal's West Midnapore district <em>Photo: Subir Halder</em>
Kharif sowing has made steady progress this year on the back of a good monsoon , raising prospects of a bumper crop . Rice, oilseeds and cotton, among other major crops, had been sown across 75 million hectares as on July 26 - up 18 per cent over the area cultivated last year.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department, about 83 per cent of the country had received normal or excess rainfall from the Southwest monsoon beginning June 1. "By and large, the monsoon is quite encouraging. Because of a good monsoon, farmers have taken initiatives for sowing operations," Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said recently. "Sufficient seeds were provided by the Centre and states. That's why the area sown so far this year is higher compared to last year," he added. The kharif season (June to September) accounts for approximately half the foodgrain output in the country while rabi (October to February) makes up for the rest.
Data show that area under all the major kharif crops this year has been higher. Rice, the main kharif cereal crop, was sown over 19.63 million hectares, up 7 per cent from last year. The area under pulses has gone up 86 per cent to 7.36 million hectares while the area under oilseeds has gone up 21 per cent to 16.71 million hectares. A large portion of the consumption demand for both pulses and edible oil is met through imports.
The area under cotton, another important kharif crop has surged by 8 per cent to 10.5 million hectares, and this bodes well for the textile industry. In 2012/13, domestic cotton output had declined four per cent to 34 million bales owing to a drought in the main cotton producing states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. This had also impacted cotton exports last year. The coverage of coarse cereals went up by 27 per cent to 15 million hectares. This has positive implications for the domestic poultry industry. "The sowing progress is satisfactory. We should see a good kharif harvest," says Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist at Care Ratings.
Kharif crop output touched an all-time high of 131.27 million tonnes in 2011/12. But kharif production had fallen in 2012/13 because of the drought in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Timely sowing this year will ensure crops get adequate time to mature. The higher kharif output this year is expected to cool food inflation as well. Wholesale price index-based food inflation stood at 9.75 per cent in June, up from 8.25 per cent in May and 6.08 per cent in April. July may well be a different story. "If this (monsoon) situation continues, foodgrain production this year will break the record of the last two years," said Pawar.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department, about 83 per cent of the country had received normal or excess rainfall from the Southwest monsoon beginning June 1. "By and large, the monsoon is quite encouraging. Because of a good monsoon, farmers have taken initiatives for sowing operations," Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said recently. "Sufficient seeds were provided by the Centre and states. That's why the area sown so far this year is higher compared to last year," he added. The kharif season (June to September) accounts for approximately half the foodgrain output in the country while rabi (October to February) makes up for the rest.
Data show that area under all the major kharif crops this year has been higher. Rice, the main kharif cereal crop, was sown over 19.63 million hectares, up 7 per cent from last year. The area under pulses has gone up 86 per cent to 7.36 million hectares while the area under oilseeds has gone up 21 per cent to 16.71 million hectares. A large portion of the consumption demand for both pulses and edible oil is met through imports.
The area under cotton, another important kharif crop has surged by 8 per cent to 10.5 million hectares, and this bodes well for the textile industry. In 2012/13, domestic cotton output had declined four per cent to 34 million bales owing to a drought in the main cotton producing states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. This had also impacted cotton exports last year. The coverage of coarse cereals went up by 27 per cent to 15 million hectares. This has positive implications for the domestic poultry industry. "The sowing progress is satisfactory. We should see a good kharif harvest," says Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist at Care Ratings.
Kharif crop output touched an all-time high of 131.27 million tonnes in 2011/12. But kharif production had fallen in 2012/13 because of the drought in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Timely sowing this year will ensure crops get adequate time to mature. The higher kharif output this year is expected to cool food inflation as well. Wholesale price index-based food inflation stood at 9.75 per cent in June, up from 8.25 per cent in May and 6.08 per cent in April. July may well be a different story. "If this (monsoon) situation continues, foodgrain production this year will break the record of the last two years," said Pawar.
