Kharif sowing picks up but is still about 10% lower than last year

With the revival of monsoon in the central and nothern India, Kharif sowing has picked up pace, compared to the previous weeks. But this is still about 10 per cent lower than last year.

Sowing of groundnut and cotton crops has fallen significantly. Both the crops are grown mainly in Gujarat, where the southwest monsoon was almost 43 per cent deficient. Groundnut sowing is almost 36.37 per cent less than last year, while for cotton, there is almost a 15 per cent fall.

Meanwhile, latest data from the department of agriculture shows that till July 13, kharif crops have been sown in around 50.16 million hectares, which was 10.01 per cent less than the area covered during the same period last year. 

Compared to normal sowing, which is the average of last five years, the area covered in 2018 is 3.02 per cent less than last year.  
 

Usually, crops are sown in around 105.81 million hectares of land, of which sowing is done in about 47 per cent.