Frost, heatwave hit India’s rapeseed crop, dent hopes of record yields
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
Farmers loading rapeseed stalks on the outskirts of Jaipur, India, on Feb 24.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
KATHAWALA, India – India’s rapeseed production could remain steady in 2023 despite a record planting as yields were curtailed by frost and a heatwave in key producing areas, farmers and industry officials have told Reuters.
Lower-than-expected rapeseed production could force India, the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oils, to increase expensive overseas purchases of cooking oils such as palm oil, soya oil and sunflower oil to fulfil rising demand.
“Vegetative growth was excellent until mid-January, when frost hit our crop. It badly affected developing pods,” said farmer Ramu Meena, who expanded his land area to 1.6ha in 2023 from 2022’s 1.2ha in the north-western state of Rajasthan.
Other farmers told Reuters that frost and a heatwave had reduced the number of seeds in pods.
Area under rapeseed jumped 7.4 per cent to a record 9.8 million ha in 2023. Based on the higher area, the government has forecast rapeseed production could jump 7.1 per cent from a year earlier to a record 12.8 million tonnes.
“Initial expectation was crop size could rise to 12 million to 12.5 million tonnes, but the weather didn’t support (it),” said Mr B.V. Mehta, executive director of the industry body, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India.
“We could end up around last year’s production level.”
India produced 10.5 million tonnes of rapeseed in 2022.
The association has been conducting field surveys to assess crop size and would release production estimates on March 20, Mr Mehta said.
Erratic weather could trim rapeseed output by around 1.5 million tonnes, which could have yielded 500,000 tonnes of oil and reduced vegetable oil imports by the same amount, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house.
India meets more than 70 per cent of its cooking oil demand through imports of palm oil, soya oil and sunflower oil from Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine and Russia.
Rapeseed supplies are rising in spot markets as the crop is becoming matured early due to the ongoing heatwave, said Mr Anil Chatar, a trader based in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Daily supplies are nearly 5 per cent more than in 2022 due to early maturity, and prices in spot markets are ruling below the government-fixed price of 5,450 rupees (S$90) per 100 kg, Mr Chatar said.
“The government should immediately start procurement from farmers to support prices,” he said. REUTERS
