For all the kharif crops, the acreage, as on September 2, was around 106.92 mha - just 1.27% lower than last year
The saving grace is that unlike wheat, rice stocks in the central pool are much higher than required
After wheat, rice prices are firming up on reports of supply concerns with the all India average retail price of the grain ruling higher by 6.31 per cent at Rs 37.7 per kg compared to the year-ago period, according to an official data. The All India average retail price of wheat has risen by over 22 per cent to Rs 31.04 per kg as of August 22 compared to Rs 25.41 per kg in the year-ago period, according to the data maintained by the Consumer Affairs Ministry. The average retail price of wheat flour (atta) has increased by over 17 per cent to Rs 35.17 per kg as against Rs 30.04 per kg in the year-ago period, the data showed. The rising trend in the retail price of rice is due to reports of likely drop in the country's production in view of 8.25 per cent lag in paddy sowing till last week in the ongoing kharif (summer) season. Considering the current lag in the paddy coverage, experts said the country's total rice production is likely to be lower than the set target of 112 million to
Punjab is expecting a cotton output of around 8 lakh bales in the current Kharif season due to lower acreage and damage to the crop due to rains. The cotton output had dropped sharply to 6.45 lakh bales in the last 2021-22 season due to the pink bollworm insect attack against more than 10 lakh bales in the previous year. The current season production would be nearly 35 per cent lower than that in 2018-19. Lesser area under cotton along with damage to the crop by rains and whitefly pest attack are being seen as the main reasons behind the expected decline in the overall yield. Punjab could bring only 2.48 lakh hectares under cotton crop as against the target of 4 lakh hectares in cotton-growing areas of Bathinda, Muktsar, Mansa, Fazilka, Sangrur, Moga and Faridkot in the Kharif sowing season. During the time of sowing which is mid of April till May, farmers in several cotton-growing areas could not get sufficient canal water for sowing of the crop as there was a breach in the Sirhi
There is a possibility of a 10-15-million tonne drop in kharif rice production due to drought in several major growing states in eastern India
However, if monsoon progress in August and is geographically more even, Nomura believes Kharif sowing could still pick up going ahead, which in turn could keep food prices and inflation under check.
Agriculture commissioner A K Singh has said there is a slight deficit in paddy coverage in the ongoing kharif season mainly in eastern India, but it will be recovered with monsoon progressing fast. In the southern region, paddy has been planted in a significant area buoyed by good and well-distributed rainfall. In Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh too, there is no cause of concern as of now as the sowing is normally undertaken much in advance with the help of tubewell irrigation, he said. The government has not released the latest data of paddy sowing, but the data available till July 17 showed all-India paddy coverage to be down by 17.4 per cent at 128.50 lakh hectare so far this kharif season as against 155.53 lakh hectare in the corresponding period of the previous year. The sowing of kharif crops begins with the onset of the southwest monsoon in June. Paddy is a major kharif crop. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has projected a normal southwest monsoon this ...
Experts say a fall in paddy output could hugely impact cereal prices going forward as wheat stocks in central pool aren't enough to quell any surge in prices
The state produced 10.39 mt of foodgrain in the last kharif season
Official data showed that among major kharif crops, acreage of pulses was almost 7 per cent more than last year
RBI data showed that credit to industry grew 8.7 per cent in May
Industry sources estimate that drones could be used for spraying pesticides and other plant chemicals in around 30,000 acres this kharif season largely as pilot projects
The Congress on Thursday accused the government of betraying the country's farmers and said the minimum support prices (MSP) of Kharif crops announced for 2022-23 are meagre and below inflation rate
Biggest hikes were reserved for pulses, oilseeds
The actual pick-up in sowing will happen once the monsoon becomes active over Central and Western India
Set to sign long-term contracts with Morocco and Latin American countries to ensure steady flow
Market participants anticipate a shift from pulses to oilseeds and cotton in several areas
A normal monsoon will help raise agri output while higher food prices will help increase farm incomes, says the report
Stating that there is more stock for supply of fertilisers for this kharif season than the demand this year, the Centre asked the states to not create either a panic situation or spread misinformation
The government also said that it will soon announce the subsidy rate for non-urea soil nutrients for the current fiscal