India’s rabi acreage to go up by 6.6% to 572 lakh hectares (lh) this week over the corresponding week last year, according to rabi sowing data released by the Agriculture Ministry.
The total planted area under winter crop the same week last year was 536 lh,
There was an almost 10% increase in area under wheat till this week to 297 lh over same period in the previous rabi season. Much of this increase was reported from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat, the States that received substantially higher monsoon rainfall.
The other traditional wheat-growing States such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, on other hand, reported either the same level as last year or less area under wheat so far.
Rice acreage has increased to 13.9 lh, about 16.5% more than same week last year, because of Tamil Nadu, where rice planting increased by 18% to close to 9 lh.
Among pulses crops, planting of gram has been 5 lh (or 5.64%) more than the corresponding week last year.
Total area under pulses crop as of now is 140 lh as against 137 lh in the corresponding week last year.
Total coarse cereals area increased by close to 11% to 46.66 lh. Planting of oilseeds too made a recovery this week. The total area under oil seeds till this week is 74 lh, nearly 1% less than the area till the corresponding week last year.
