India soybean acreage may go up 5-7% this kharif season

Soybean acreage in India may go up by 5-7% this year, said industry experts.

Last year (Kharif 2012), total area under soybean cultivation in India was 10.75 million hectare, according to Soybean Processors Association of India (SPAI).

Soybean is a rain-fed kharif crop and it is sown in June-July every year. We feel in Maharashtra some area under cotton cultivation may shift to soybean and Madhya Pradesh may also see at least 0.2 million hectare increase this year, said Rajesh Agrawal, spokesman and coordinator, SPAI. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are number one and number two soybean producers in India respectively.

Last year, total area under soybean in Madhya Pradesh was 5.813 million hectare and Maharashtra was 3.212 million, according to SOPA data. Experts feel better price realisation compared with other crops is another reason for soybean as a preference.

At present, soybean prices in Madhya Pradesh mandi auctions are at Rs 3,700-3,800 per 100 kg. Plant delivery prices are in Rs 3,800-3,925 per 100 kg range.

In Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, farmers have prepared their fields and are eagerly awaiting another spell of rains. Due to good pre-monsoon activity, soybean sowing is likely to start early in growing states, industry sources said. Some traders in physical markets feel sowing has already started in small pockets in some Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra districts, they added.