The Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA) has estimated crop acreage at 114.96 lakh ha as of July 15. This is about 15.7 per cent higher than the Agriculture Ministry’s estimate of 99.34 lakh ha for the period.
In a statement, SOPA said sowing has been completed in most of THE areas, barring few places where it has been delayed due to late or excessive rains.
As per the SOPA data, acreages in Madhya Pradesh stood at 50.21 lakh ha, while it stood at 40.65 according to the Govt estimates. Similarly, in Maharashtra, SOPA has pegged the soyabean acreage at 44.24 lakh, while the Government estimates it at 41.26 lakh ha.
In Rajasthan, the acreages are estimated at 10.94 lakh ha (9.88 lakh ha by the Government), Telangana at 2.60 lakh ha (1.30 lakh ha)., Karnataka at 3.8 lakh ha (3.7 lakh ha), Gujarat at 1.75 lakh ha (1.35 lakh ha), Chhatisgarh at 0.42 lakh ha (0.31 lakh ha) and other states at 0.98 lakh ha (0.89 lakh ha).
“We have not received any major complaints of low germination. However, in some districts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, soybean fields are facing water logging due to heavy rains and may result in crop damage if the rains continue,” said D N Pathak, Executive Director, SOPA in a statement.
Soyabean, a key ingredient for the livestock feed sector, is grown in parts of Central India. The sowing this kharif season had been sluggish in the early part due to patchy rains, but with the pick- up in monsoon, it had gained pace. SOPA expects the acreages to be around last year’s levels of 119 lakh ha or marginally higher.
SOPA recently said that the exports of soyabean meal during the October-June period of the oil year 2021-22 fell sharply by about 70 per cent to 5.63 lakh tonnes as compared to the same period previous year’s 18.69 lakh tonnes as the Indian meal was out priced in the international market. A total of 62.94 lakh tonnes of the estimated soyabean crop of 118.89 lakh tonnes has been crushed from Oct-June, and the stocks with the farmers, trade and crushing units has been estimated to be 48.17 lakh tonnes.