Delayed rains and better returns on castor last year may lead to a substantial increase in the castor acreage this year in Gujarat. State agriculture department estimates castorseed acreage to increase to 3.50 lakh hectares during ongoing Kharif season, while industry and traders believe the acreage would be higher than 3.50 lakh hectares, up from 3.14 lakh hectares in 2007-08.
Gujarat witnessed erratic rainfall in the months of June and July, a time when most Kharif crops are sown. Usually, castor sowing starts from August and there was favourable rainfall in the month of August following revival of monsoon.
"Satisfactory rains this month have brightened the prospects of castor sowing and production in the state," said S. R. Chaudhry, Agriculture Director, Government of Gujarat.
Castor acreage in 2007-08 stood at 3.14 lakh hectares. So far around 2.78 lakh hectares have already been covered under castor crop this year.
With castor sowing still in progress and sizeable land in North Gujarat is yet to see castor sowing. The government estimates the castor acreage to touch 3.50 lakh hectares mark in 2008-09, he added.
Castor prices touched a record levels of Rs 680 per 20 kg this year. Better returns on castor are likely to attract many farmers to grow castor this year. Also, delayed rains have acted as a boon for castor as farmers tend to turn to castor in case where rains are delayed.
"Castor acreage in Gujarat is likely to surge upto 20 per cent this year," said Pravin Thakkar, president of Ahmedabad Commodity Exchange (ACE).
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Industry players and castorseed traders estimate the castor acreage in Gujarat to increase by around 20 per cent. As per the data available with Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA), around 3.54 lakh hectares were covered under castor crop in 2007-08 and total production of castorseed stood at 6.51 lakh tonnes, which showed an increase of 32 per cent over the previous year.
"Across the country, castor sowing is comparatively lower as of now but it is expected to pick up due to favourable rainfall in August. Record prices will also lure farmer to go for castor sowing," said BV Mehta, executive director, SEA.
As per SEA's castor crop survey 2007-08, total area under castor crop in India for the year 2007-08 was 7.48 lakh hectares and the production stood at 9.10 lakh tonnes. This year industry expects the production to touch 10.50 lakh tonnes.