Area under Soyabean sowing to touch 10.5 million hectares

Rising prices in global market due to drought in US encouraging Indian farmers to sow the oilseed

Soyabean acreage in the country is expected to rise by 2 lakh hectares to 10.5 million hectares in the current kharif season on the back of rise in planted area in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The country had sown the oilseed in 103 lakh hectares in the kharif 2011 season, According to Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA) data. "We expect soyabean to cover 105 lakh hectares this season as rains have picked up in July and oilseed is getting very good response in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra," SOPA Spokesperson Rajesh Agrawal said.

SOPA expects soyabean acreage to touch 58 lakh hectares in Madhya Pradesh and 31 lakh hectares in Maharashtra, Agrawal added.

According to the Agriculture Ministry data, soyabean acreage has risen by 8 per cent to 101.54 lakh hectares in the current season so far from 94.34 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.

Area in Madhya Pradesh stood at 57.76 lakh hectares so far in the ongoing kharif season from 54.77 lakh hectares in the last season, while in Maharashtra the acreage stood at 29.15 lakh hectares compared to 26.39 lakh hectares in the same period, it said.

Market analysts said rising prices of soyabean in the global market due to drought in the US, which is a major exporter of the oilseed, is also encouraging the farmers to go for its sowing.

The export price of soyabean meal from India rose by 39 per cent to USD 790 per tonne as on July 27, 2012 against USD 575 per tonne on the same date last month. Soyabean meal rates were ruling at USD 395 per tonne on July 27, 2011. In the domestic market, prices of soyabean seed rose by 35 per cent to Rs 47,000 per tonne as on July 27, 2012 from Rs 34,750 per tonne on June 27. The prices on July 27, 2011, stood at Rs 21,881 per tonne.