The area under oilseeds and pulses is less but the wheat cover is higher during the current rabi season. As of December 20, 93 percent of the normal area was covered at 32 lakh hectares (lh) last week.
This development poses a policy challenge for the government, which aims to make the country self-sufficient in edible oils and pulses. The normal seasonal area (average of the last five years) is 635.60 liters of water.
Farmers have switched from rabi oilseeds such as mustard and groundnuts as they prefer stable prices. Although oilseed prices were higher in 2022 and 2023, they fell in 2024. Prices of oilseeds like soybeans are currently below the minimum support price (MSP), forcing farmers to look at financial security, trade sources said.
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The area under stimulus is smaller because higher imports are starting to put pressure on domestic prices. Currently, pigeonpea or arhar is quoted at ₹7,931 per quintal against the MSP ₹7,550. Gram (chana prices currently stand at ₹6,552 at the MSP (set in 2023-24 as it is a rabi crop) of ₹5,650, urad (black matpe) prices at ₹7,350 against the MSP of ₹7,440 and that of moong ( green gram) at ₹6,976 compared to the MSP of ₹8,682.
According to Grains Australia, India imported 82,481 tonnes of the 109,622 tonnes of chickpeas its farmers shipped in October, the highest since 2017, when 136,891 tonnes were exported. During the entire Australian marketing year 2023-2024 (October-September), India imported 83,367 tonnes.
Canada exported 594,514 tonnes of peas and lentils to India in the first three months of the 2024-2025 marketing year, which started in August. Canadian pea exports to India are a big gainer as they were nowhere in the picture during the same period in 2023-2024.
In this regard, India on Tuesday extended duty-free import of yellow peas till February 2025. All this has resulted in a slump in sowing of oilseeds and pulses during the current rabi season.
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Total area
The total area under all rabi crops reached 590.82 liters per hour on December 20, which is slightly lower than the 590.97 liters per year a year ago. For several weeks in November, data showed higher acreage this year. This was because the planting of some crops was postponed in 2023, an expert said, adding that the area under cultivation is now showing a dip.
“The availability of inputs on time should be the main focus, which was missing this year. That is also the reason why the rabi/kharif conference is organized in advance to take stock of the input situation. But the conference has become a ceremonial event as there is now no timing for when it should be held,” said a former agriculture commissioner. He emphasized the need for advance planning with the states to meet the area target set at the conference.
While official sources blamed warm weather conditions until mid-November for lower planting of oilseeds and plants as farmers feared germination problems, industry sources said the procurement system for oilseeds and pulses should be as robust as paddy and wheat to change farmers’ preference.
Safflower too low
The area under mustard, an important rabi oilseed, fell 5.6 percent from 93.73 l/h to 88.50 l/h, while the area under groundnut fell 7.4 percent from 3.12 l/h to 2.89 l/h. The area under safflower has fallen from 64,000 hectares to 61,000 hectares, while the area under all rabi oilseed crops has fallen by 5.6 percent from 100.89 lh to 95.22 lh. In the week of December 14 to 20, only about 3 liters were sown under mustard.
Sowing of all pulses has reached 125.64 lh against 126.89 lh, a decline of 1 percent. The Chana area (gram) was reached at 86 luhrs, which is 1.9 percent higher than 84.42 luhrs, but the area of masur (lentils) decreased by 4 percent from 17.76 luhrs to 17.06 luhrs. With the normal pulses area in rabi season being 140 liters per hour, industry experts say some recovery could be witnessed in crops other than chana crop. The final acreage could still be around 135 liters per hour, compared to 137.39 liters last season.
Sowing of wheat, the main grain of the rabi season, continued its lead despite a delayed start and is now up 2.5 percent to 312.28 liters per hour, compared to 304.77 liters per hour a year earlier . Experts have expressed concerns over the delayed sowing of wheat this year as the normal period in the northwestern region closes on November 20.
Wheat bonus
States like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are paying bonus for wheat over and above the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹2,425/quintal, while open market rates are also very high this year. The price of atta (wheat flour) has already crossed the ₹40/kg mark in the wheat growing belt.
Among other Rabi crops, paddy area is up 3.5 percent at 12.85 liters per hour compared to 12.41 liters per hour a year ago. Corn area is down 4.1 percent, with coverage of 16.05 lh, compared to 16.73 lh, and barley area is down 17.4 percent to 6.62 lh, compared to 8.01 lh a year ago. years ago.
The government has set the production target of 115 million tonnes (mt) for wheat, 14.55 million tonnes for rice, 12 million tonnes for maize, 13.65 million tonnes for chana, 1.65 million tonnes for masur, 13.8 million tonnes for mustard and 2.25 million tonnes for barley fixed during the current Rabi season. . The area of crops is the key factor to determine production as farmers normally select crops that command higher prices in the market.
In the total foodgrain target of 341.55 tonnes set for the crop year 2024-25 (July-June), the contribution of foodgrains of the Rabi season will be 164.55 tonnes, or more than 48 per cent.
