News
28.09.2009
India's summer oilseed output to decline
India's summer-sown oilseed output is likely to fall by more than 4 percent to 13.1 million tonnes in 2009/10 due to a drop in groundnut production, leading trader and respected analyst Govindbhai Patel said on Friday. Supplies of edible oils from summer-sown oilseeds in 2009/10 are seen at 3.7 million tonnes, marginally down from 3.8 million tonnes in the same period last year, Patel said.
Summer-sown groundnut output is likely to fall by 23.8 percent to 3.2 million tonnes in 2009/10 while production of soybean may rise to 9 million tonnes from 8.5 million tonnes a year earlier, Patel said. India buys about half of its total edible oil needs from Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil and Argentina. Late monsoon rains over key oilseed growing areas would delay the harvest, he said. "Recent rains during end August to first week of September have improved prospects of rabbi (winter-sown) crops," Patel said.
Output of rapeseed, a main winter-sown oilseed, might go up by 500,000 to 600,000 tonnes in 2009/10 over trade estimates of 6.6 million tonnes production in 2008/09, he added. He said production of winter-swon groundnut is expected at 1.7-1.8 million tonnes, against 1.5 million tonnes in 2008/09.
Reuters
