Castor seeds acreage up 38% in Gujarat

Castor seeds acreage in Gujarat has increased by over one lakh hectares, or around 38 per cent, to 3.78 lakh hectares in the last one year, according to the figures released by the state government.

Last year, the area under castor seeds cultivation in the state was 2.60 lakh tonnes. More than 80 per cent of the country's castor seed output comes from Gujarat.

"A rise in acreage means the production of castor seeds will also be more than the last year's output of 5.25 lakh tonnes," said an Ahmedabad-based trader and exporter of castor oil.

Last year, the country's total production of castor seeds stood at 7-7.5 lakh tonnes, including around 2 lakh tonnes from Andhra Pradesh, the second largest castor seeds producing state after Gujarat.

"These are government figures and the traders are yet to come out with their own estimates. Our estimates of production and acreage will come out within 15 days," the trader said, adding that the initial market reports confirmed the rise in acreage and production of castor seeds.

Talking about the export situation of castor oil, he said that exports picked up in September after the initial slump in the beginning of the year.

"At present around 20,000-22,000 tonnes of castor oil is being exported from Gujarat every month. This includes container shipments and bulk cargo. China, followed by Europe and the US, has become a major market for castor oil," he added.

Analysts said that the demand form China was because of poor crop of tung seeds there this year. Tung oil is also known as "China wood oil" and is similar to castor oil in its industrial usage.

India is the world's largest castor seeds producing country and the annual production fluctuates between 6 lakh tonnes and 9 lakh tonnes.