India's castor output seen at 3-year low of 1.14 mt

Less rain and inadequate water availability hamper yield in Gujarat and Rajasthan

Lower yield due to inadequate water availability has affected the castor crop prospects in India, the world’s largest producer of the oilseed. According to the latest projections by Nielsen India, the country’s castor crop may slip to the lowest levels since 2010-11 at around 1.14 million tonnes (mt) for 2012-13.

The fall in castor production is attributed to a sharp fall in yield in Gujarat and Rajasthan, two major castor growing states, at around 29 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively.

Total area under castor crop in the country has been registered at around 1.1 million hectares (ha) this year against 1.14 million ha, lower by about five per cent on year-on-year basis. However, the average yield for the year 2012-13 is estimated to be 1,043 kg per ha against 1,373 kg per ha, showing a drop of 19 per cent.

“This year, castor producing districts of Gujarat have received 20 per cent less rainfall against normal. Majority of the farmers opined that due to low rainfall, growth of castor crop has been hampered this year. Inadequate water availability has also impacted castor crop,” Nielsen noted in its report on the castor crop survey.

However, analysts believe lesser crop estimate will not have trigger prices to rise in a short run due to high inventories with farmers. “There is a lot of carryover stock with farmers. Even if production estimates are lower, there should not be much impact on prices,” said Atul Chaturvedi, co-chairman, SEA Castor Seed and Oil Promotion Council. Chaturvedi is also the chief executive officer of Adani Wilmar.

According to trade sources, castor seed prices are likely to hover around Rs 800 per 20 kg till May 2013. China’s imports of castor oil have been on a decline.

“Farmers anticipate prices to be at least Rs 1,000 per 20 kg as cost of cultivation is high for castor. If prices do not turn attractive, farmers may be discouraged to take castor and may shift to alternate crops like guar or tobacco,” said Maganbhai Patel, farmer leader from Palanpur in North Gujarat at the Global Castor Conference-2013 on Saturday.

Gujarat produces more than over 70 per cent of the country’s total castor production. Nielsen has estimated that castor production in the state will decline 32 per cent from 1.19 mt in 2011-12 to about 806,000 tonnes in 2012-13.

In Rajasthan, the area under castor has dropped seven per cent from 169,000 ha to 157,000 ha, while the production is estimated to drop 17 per cent froom 199,000 tonnes in 2011-12 to around 165,000 tonnes in 2012-13. Yield is likely to fall 11 per cent from 1,180 kg per ha last year to 1,054 kg per ha in 2012-13.

However, castor production will not be much affected in Andhra Pradesh, where the output is likely to fall five per cent to 150,000 tonnes in 2012-13 against 158,000 tonnes in 2011-12. The area and yield have reported marginal decline of three per cent and two per cent, respectively.

The three states put together constitute around 95-98 per cent of the country’s total castor production. As per industry data, India’s castor output stood at 1.25 mt in 2010-11 and 1.56 mt in 2011-12.