IOPEPC estimates 52% reduction in summer groundnut output in Gujarat

Groundnut production in Gujarat this summer will be down by 52.5 per cent as per a survey conducted by the Indian Oilseeds & Produce Export Promotion Council (IOPEPC). The council undertakes regular crop surveys to estimate the production of groundnut and other oilseeds.

The survey was conducted in the state from May 11-14, 2015 in association with the Junagadh Agricultural University as Gujarat is the largest producer of groundnut during summer.

IOPEPC survey said that groundnut output this summer will be about 91,966 tonnes as against 193,258 tonnes in 2014. However, traders had estimated nearly 75,000-78,000 tonnes of production this season.

"Farmers were aware of shortage of irrigation water due to inadequate recharge of ground water resources last monsoon. Therefore, farmers did not sow crops in full swing and rather restricted sowing of groundnuts," said Kishore Tanna, chairman of IOPEPC.

According to the government data, the area under groundnut crop was lower by 45 per cent during summer 2015 at 49,300 hectares in comparison to 89,500 hectares in 2014. IOPEPC survey team used government data for area.

Yield has decreased about 14 per cent to 1,865 kg per hectare this year from 2,159 kg per hectare last year.

Tanna said, "Many farmers could not be provided with even the required amount of irrigation, which led to low yields. The incidences of pests and diseases were low and as such there was no significant impact on otherwise low yields."

Survey reported that due to non-availability of quality seeds of recommended varieties, farmers used varieties such as GG2 (released in 1983) and J11 (released in 1964). The currently recommended varieties are TG-37 and TPG41.

Meanwhile, groundnut export from India has grown significantly in 2014-15. Data provided by IOPEPC showed that India exported 646,114 tonnes of groundnut from April 2014 to February 2015 while, shipments stood at 509,515 tonnes in 2013-14.