Agri: Sowing of coarse cereals lagging behind

The monsoon deficiency situation across the country has been constant at 22% over the last two weeks. North West India and South Peninsular India (which includes major states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan) continue to be the major deficient areas with 39% and 24% respectively. The deficient rainfall has also resulted in depletion of water levels in our reservoirs. According to the Central Water Commission, the total water storage in the 84 important reservoirs in our country is at 36.321 billion cubic meters, which is 24% of the total storage capacity. The current year's storage is nearly 55% of last year's storage and 76% of the average of last ten years. The water level situation in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, UP and AP is most worrying with the departure from normal levels being more than 40% on the downside.

The deficient monsoon has effected the sowing of coarse cereals the most. The acreage of coarse cereals is currently at 11.75 million hectares compared to 16.09 million hectares in the normal season.

The sowing of rice has improved and is now only 0.87 million hectares below normal. On the other hand, the sowing of oilseeds, sugarcane, cotton and jute are continuing well and their acreage is above normal.

Dip in output, rising costs dent McLeod Russel’s profit
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