Paddy sowing dips 13% due to poor rains; likely to hurt final output

Last year, India produced over 111 million tonnes of rice in the kharif season

The area for sowing paddy — the biggest foodgrain grown during the kharif season — was almost 13.3 per cent less than the same period last year as on July 29 due to poor rains in big growing states of UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.

This has raised concerns of a big impact on the final output as peak sowing season for the crop is nearing its end. Sources said trade and market players have already started factoring in at least 10 million tonnes drop in production in rice in the kharif season as compared to last year due to