Good beginning is half done: Indian Kharif crop sowing progress analysis

Kharif crop sowing in India gradually picks up due to good monsoon rainfall till date in country as a whole.

However monsoon is yet to gather momentum in many parts of north and north –western India.

The latest data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, the kharif crop sown area has crossed 165 lakh hectares so far as compared to 134.18 lakh ha at this time last year.  Remarkable progress is seen in case of Pulses and Oilseeds where area increment is far ahead as compared to the last year’s figures. In Pulses this increment is around 80% while in case of oilseeds around 427% increment is seen.

Rice and sugarcane area has seen marginal decline.

The sowing of different crops is underway and will continue till July end. If monsoon remains fairly active and its spatial distribution also remain good then country can expect better production.

This is a matter of great relief that in the commodities like pulses and oilseeds the sowing progress is good because India is import dependent in many pulses and edible oils.

Monsoon Progress:

Till date the Indian monsoon rains have remained good enough. It is clear that majority of the regions have received normal /excess rainfall during 1-28 June 29, 2015 barring a few regions of Uttar Pradesh.

The actual cumulative rainfall is also fairly above the normal rainfall for the country as a whole.

Now a lot will depend upon the further progress of the monsoon during crop growth stage.

Figures Source: IMD, New Delhi