Concern Over India's Rabi Crops

VANCOUVER - Sep 28/07 - SNS -- It seems too early to worry about crop production prospects for the coming winter or rabi season crops on the Indian subcontinent, but some traders in the region are worried about crop production prospects even thought summer or kharif seedings are just winding up.

Summer or kharif season pulse area continued to increase beyond last year, according to the latest data available from India's Agriculture Ministry. Land in pulses stands at 12.479 million hectares as of September 28, compared to 11.241 million at this time last year. This is part of a general increase in kharif season seeded area.

The total coverage of kharif rice has gone up to 36.592 million hectares from 36.422 million last year. Total coarse cereal grain area is down from 22.101 million hectares at 21.609 million this year. Jowar seedings have fallen from 3.666 to 3.,44 million hectares; while bajra dropped from 9.182 to 8.324 million hectares; and corn jumped from 7.245 to 7.678 million hectares.

Land in cotton increased from 8.748 to 9.094 million hectares, including 5.332 million hectares of Bt Cotton. Sugarcane acres jumped from 4.832 to 5.104 million hectares; while jute rose from 818,000 to 829,000 and mesta dropped from 153,000 to 147,000 hectares. Kharif season oilseed area has advanced from 16.355 to 17.599 million hectares.

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