Indian farmers reduce area under rapeseed due to rising temperatures

The area planted to rapeseed and mustard in India is expected to shrink despite high prices as above-average temperatures during the planting season encourage farmers to switch to crops that are less susceptible to heat and that offer equally good returns, Reuters reported, citing industry officials.

Declining production of rapeseed, the main oilseed crop grown in India, may force the country, the world’s largest importer of vegetable oils, to increase purchases of vegetable edible oils such as palm, soybean and sunflower oils to meet rising demand.

According to Anil Chatar, a leading trader from Rajasthan, the country’s largest rapeseed producer, temperatures remained above normal in October and November, which was not favorable for the crop. “In many places, the sowing of early crops failed to sprout,” he said. According to the meteorological department, temperatures in key rapeseed producing areas have been 2-7 degrees Celsius above normal in the last few weeks. Vedpal Tyagi, a farmer, said he had reduced the area sown under rapeseed to 10 acres in October instead of the usual 20 acres.

According to government data, as of Nov. 21, rapeseed was sown on 3.12 million acres of land in Rajasthan, down 7.2 percent from a year ago. Chatar said higher temperatures have also affected sowing in neighboring states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana, which could reduce the total rapeseed sown area by 10% compared to last year.

After New Delhi raised minimum purchase prices for farmers by 5.3% to 5,950 rupees ($70.61) per 100 kilograms, the industry had expected an increase in rapeseed sown area, but farmers are worried about prices because soybean, the main oilseed grown in summer, is selling at lower prices than the minimum price set by the government.

Earlier it became known that imports of vegetable oils in India during MY 2023/24 (November-October) fell by 3.09% – to 16.2 million tons due to the growth of domestic production of oilseeds and lower demand amid rising prices, a year earlier the figure was 16.47 million tons.

Tags: rapeseed, India