Soybean acreage up 11% on yr at 9.4 mln ha.

Ram Gopal Yadav (6 years ago)

Soybean acreage across the country was 9.35 mln ha, up 11% from the year-ago period. Rains being bountiful in key growing regions of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, sowing of the oilseed has increased. In Madhya Pradesh, soybean acreage was 11% higher on year at 4.44 mln ha as planting gained pace because the ideal sowing period ends by the third week of July. Planting of the oilseed is expected to be higher from a year ago due to higher minimum support price and adequate rains in major growing areas.

Moong acreage down 1.8% YoY at 2.34 mln ha.

Ram Gopal Yadav (6 years ago)

Acreage under moong across the country was down 1.8% on year at 2.34 mln ha. However, week-on-week the area under the crop has jumped over 33%. This year, sowing of moong was delayed due to the pattern of monsoon rains in Rajasthan, the largest grower of the crop. In Rajasthan, area under moong is up 8.1% on year at 1.3 mln ha so far. Till Jul 11, moong acreage in the state was down over 25% on year.

Tur acreage down 10.2% on yr at 2.86 mln ha.

Ram Gopal Yadav (6 years ago)

Area under tur across the country was down 10.2% on year at 2.86 mln ha. Many farmers in Madhya Pradesh, one of the largest growers of tur, have shifted to paddy this year as rains have been good and due to attractive returns.

Sugarcane acreage up 1.6% on year, but unchanged on week.

Ram Gopal Yadav (6 years ago)

Sugarcane acreage in the country was at 5.05 mln ha, slightly higher than 4.97 mln ha a year ago, but unchanged from a week ago. In Uttar Pradesh, which has emerged as the largest sugar producer in the past two years, cane acreage was the highest at 2.31 mln ha, compared with 2.26 mln ha a year ago. In Maharashtra, another major grower, the area under sugarcane was 1.3% higher on year at 949,000 ha, the data showed. It was also unchanged from a week ago.

ICRA says cane fair price hike may affect margins of sugar mills.

Ram Gopal Yadav (6 years ago)

The Centres move to increase fair and remunerative price of sugarcane to 275 rupees per 100 kg for 2018-19 (Oct-Sep) is likely to raise the cost of sugar production and affect margins of mills. While the effective hike is just 2.5% higher on year, “this is likely to result in margin pressures for sugar mills as well as the increase in cane arrears. Cane fair price in 2018-19 will be linked to a basic recovery rate of 10%.

Sources say govt inspects sugar cos on sale quota, buffer compliance.

Ram Gopal Yadav (6 years ago)

The government has carried out physical inspection in some sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra to ensure their compliance to the Centres orders of quota on domestic sale, floor price of the sweetener, and creation of a buffer stock. The government had last week sent inspection notices to mills in states, including Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra to check that they are following orders. In Uttar Pradesh, inspection notices were sent to Modi Sugar Mills, Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar, Dhampur Sugar Mills, Mawana Sugars, DCM Shriram.

Punjab to pay 5,000 rupee/ha subsidy on maize farm input this kharif.

Ram Gopal Yadav (6 years ago)

In order to encourage farmers to grow maize instead of paddy and check the fall in ground water level, the Punjab government has announced a subsidy on farm inputs for the coarse grain in 2018-19 (Jul-Jun) kharif season. The state government has also announced a subsidy of 120 rupees per kg on purchase of maize seeds. The state government is promoting cultivation of maize in place of paddy under the crop diversification scheme. Groundwater level in 32% area of the state has fallen below 20 mtr from 2 mtr in 2000.

Kharif maize area flat on year at 6.1 mln ha.

Ram Gopal Yadav (6 years ago)

Maize sowing in the country has gained momentum, with total area under the coarse grain rising to 6.13 mln ha from 5.11 mln ha as on Jul 12. Maize acreage in the country was largely unchanged from the year-ago period and was only a tad lower from the normal of 6.15 mln ha, based on the average of the past five years. A pick-up in rainfall across the country has boosted planting of maize.

Kharif paddy area down 12% YoY at 15.7 mln ha.

Ram Gopal Yadav (6 years ago)

Farmers across the country have sown paddy across 15.65 mln ha this kharif season, down 12.4% on year. Paddy acreage was also below the average area of 17.94 mln ha for the period. The fall in acreage can be attributed to lower planting in top growers Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha and Punjab. Acreage in Punjab has declined as the state government is encouraging farmers to shift to coarse grains like maize from more water-intensive crops like paddy to check the fall in groundwater level.