Good rains increase kharif crop sowing

A significantly better monsoon in most parts of the country has facilitated kharif sowing. The area under kharif coverage as of July 5 jumped by 87 per cent compared to last year, according to the agriculture ministry. The area under all major kharif crops such as rice, pulses, cotton and oilseeds is well above the corresponding area last year.

Rice, the main kharif cereal crop, was sown in 6.91 million hectares, up 22 per cent from last year. The area under pulses, a commodity that is always in deficit, has gone up 360 per cent to 1.83 million hectares. Oilseed sowing has gone up by 316 per cent to 11 million hectares. As with pulses, the country meets a good deal of its edible oil requirement through imports.

The area under cotton (an important kharif crop) increased by 75 per cent to 8.17 million hectares. This bodes well for the textile industry. In 2012/13, domestic cotton output declined four per cent to 33.8 million bales owing to a drought in the main cotton producing states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. This impacted cotton exports last year. Coverage of coarse cereals has gone up by 185 per cent to 6.55 million hectares. This has positive implications for the domestic poultry industry.

For the country as a whole, cumulative rainfall during this year's monsoon is 27 per cent above the long period average or LPA (as of July 3). This has helped enable timely sowing. Kharif sowing was delayed last year due to the late monsoon.

Cumulative seasonal rainfall activity continued to be in excess in all regions except East and Northeast India where it was 37 per cent below LPA, according to the Indian Meteorological Department. In terms of area-wise distribution, 91 per cent of the country received excess or normal rainfall while the remaining faced deficient or scanty rainfall.

Agriculture and allied sectors such as forestry, logging and fishing employ more than 50 per cent of the workforce, though the sector accounts only for 14 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. Timely sowing could result in higher farm production and keep food inflation in check.

The wholesale price index-based food inflation stood at 8.25 per cent in May, up significantly from 6.08 per cent in April. Retail food inflation too remained high. The consumer price index-based food and beverage inflation for May stood at 10.65 per cent.