Indian farmers increase oilseed plantings

India’s rice planting area in the South Asian country rose 58% from a year earlier as of June 20 to 3.5 million hectares (8.7 million acres) as of last Friday, helped by an early onset of monsoons, Bloomberg reported.

Farmers planted oilseeds on 4.9 million hectares, up 20% from a year earlier, the ministry said in a statement on Monday evening. Pulse plantings increased to 2.1 million hectares, up 37% from a year earlier.

Monsoon rains were 9% above normal in June and are forecast to exceed 106% of the long-term average in July, according to the India Meteorological Department.

Almost half of India’s agricultural land is not irrigated and relies on annual rains in June-September to boost crop yields, so producers are expecting high harvest figures for the season.

Earlier, it was reported that the rapeseed harvest, India’s main oilseed crop, will amount to at least 12.9 million tonnes, while the soybean harvest is also expected to be a record 151.32 million tonnes. Thanks to the monsoon rains, the record figures may even increase.

Tags: rice, oilseeds, India, rapeseed, pulses