Wheat sowing picks up pace in India; mustard harvest nears its end

The sowing of wheat, which is the main cereal grown during the rabi season, picked up pace during the week ended November 16 as festivities ebbed in parts of North India. However, the acreage continued being lower than the corresponding period last year.
 
A favourable weather and early harvest of paddy in Punjab and Haryana, and sugarcane in Uttar Pradesh, which would clear the fields, would further assist wheat sowing.
 
According to the latest data, wheat has been sown in around 8.60 million hectares till Friday, which was 5.49 per cent lower than the same period last year.
 
Till last week, the year-on-year deficit in acreage was over 11 per cent. Among other crops, sowing of gram and mustard also improved during the week as compared to the same period last year.           
 
Mustard sowing is nearing its end with around 6.93 million hectares brought under the crop as against 6.85 million hectares during the same period last year.