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In the first few weeks of the current season, rabi acreage increased six per cent, owing to favourable climate and adequate soil moisture due to the extended monsoon.
Data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture showed total rabi acreage stood at 31.42 million hectares as of the week ended November 22, compared with 29.43 million hectares a year earlier. Till last week, sowing of wheat, which was down as compared to the previous year also picked up pace as farmers harvested the standing basmati crop in Punjab and Haryana.
However, sugarcane acreage saw a steep fall due to uncertainty over procurement by sugar mills, which face huge financial losses. High cane prices and the marked de-linked sugar price make sugarcane crushing unviable for mills, resulting in the possibility of crop diversion in favour of wheat.
"The extended heavy rains in October have kept the soil wet until now. Sowing, therefore, is set to speed up in the coming days," said Naveen Mathur, associate director (commodities and currencies), Angel Broking.
Rabi rice acreage accounted for about 15 per cent of the total rice acreage. It rose to 0.073 million hectares from 0.064 million hectares as of November-end last year.
During the same period, wheat acreage rose from 10.16 million hectares to 12.75 million hectares. Rabi pulses and oilseeds acreage stood at 8.59 million hectares and 6.24 million hectares this year, against 8.51 million hectares and 6.15 million hectares last year, respectively. Acreage for coarse cereals fell 13.19 per cent to 3.62 million hectares from 4.17 million hectares as of November-end 2012.
