Mustard seed acreage declines

Oilseed area has come down by over 30 per cent this rabi season

Rapeseed and mustard seed acreage has declined by 33.5 per cent in the ongoing rabi season as farmers are increasingly shifting to wheat for better price relaisation. The acreage under these commodities stood at 35.1 lakh hectares on November 16, 2007 compared with 52.76 lakh hectares during the same time last year.

Experts attributed the drastic fall in the sowing area to farmers shifting from oilseeds to wheat and other foodgrains for better realisation.

The total area under these crops is likely to remain low throughout this rabi season as farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the traditional rapeseed and mustard seed producers, have sown wheat this season. Last year, the total acreage under these crops came to 73 lakh hectares.

During the ongoing rabi season, the overall area under oilseeds has been reported at 46.9 lakh hectares as on November 16 compared with 67.7 lakh hectares last year, a decline of 30.72 per cent.

Rapeseed and mustard seed have lost out to wheat in Rajasthan and other states, an industry source said.

The gains in the kharif oilseed crop will be lost to some extent to the lesser rabi crop, though the overall oilseeds crop is estimated at 26.5 to 27.0 million tonnes in 2007-08 compared with last year's 23.9 million tonnes.

The overall availability of vegetable oils may increase by half a million tonnes to 8.3 million tonnes, subject to the rabi crop forecast of 9.5 to 10.0 million tonnes at present. K S Oil, the largest mustard seed crusher in the country, estimates a total rapeseed and mustard eed output of 50 lakh tonnes this rabi season compared with 67 lakh tonnes last season.

In the worst case scenario, the output may slump to 45 lakh tonnes. K S Oil is planning to procure 3.5 lakh tonnes this year for crushing.

The company procured 1.80 lakh tonnes last season.

Better realisation from wheat has attracted farmers to the crop, which offered 33 per cent return last year. The government raised the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat this year to Rs 1,000 a quintal compared with Rs 750 a quintal last year.

In contrast, rapeseed and mustard seed offers only 5 per cent return, though prices have risen to Rs 1,800 a quintal this year from Rs 1,715 last year.