Soybean acreage across the country was at 9.56 mln ha as of Thursday, down 10.3% on year, latest data from the agriculture ministry showed. Typically, the average area as of Jul 27, based on the past three years' data, is at 10.32 mln ha. Farmers had sown nearly 10.67 mln ha of soybean a year ago. The sowing season starts from the beginning of June and continues till July end. Sowing of soybean fell so far during the period due to a drop in acreage in Madhya Pradesh, the country's largest producer of soybean, as most farmers shifted to more profitable crops such as cotton due to poor returns from oilseeds last year. In Madhya Pradesh, the acreage of the crop was at 4.56 mln ha, down from 5.20 mln ha in the previous year, the data showed. Good monsoon rains in the state during the past few days, however, prevented any further fall in acreage. The southwest monsoon, which hit the state almost a week later than the normal onset date of Jun 15, remained stalled for a long time. However, intensity of rainfall in the state picked up around Jun 15, and the state recorded 389.2 mm rainfall till Jul 31, data from the India Meteorological Department showed. In Rajasthan, another major grower of the oilseed, soybean was sown across 897,300 ha, as against 1.02 mln ha a year ago. Farmers in Maharashtra planted soybean across 3.40 mln ha, down from 3.48 mln ha on year, the data showed.
Source : Newswire
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