Mustard seed output may fall on cold weather

The production of mustard seed, the country's biggest winter-sown oilseed crop, may fall as much as 27 per cent this year after cold weather hurt crops, boosting prospects for increased overseas purchases of cooking oil.

Mustard seed production may drop to between 4.5 and 5.0 million tonnes this year from 6.2 million tonnes a year ago, Govindlal G Patel, director of Dipak Enterprises, said. Mustard seed, similar to rapeseed or canola, is crushed for both cooking oil and animal feed.

Lower output may force the country to increase edible oil imports, B V Mehta, executive director of Solvent Extractors' Association of India, said by telephone from Mumbai. India's purchases may support prices of palm oil and soybean oil, which have risen 70 per cent and 82 per cent, respectively, in the past year.

"Temperatures have been below normal between January 20 and now, affecting mustard and vegetable crops,'' said S C Bhan, a director at the New Delhi-based India Meteorological Department.

The prolonged cold weather in Rajasthan and Haryana is hurting the mustard seed crop, which was planted in a smaller area because of dry weather and as some farmers shifted to wheat and barley to benefit from rising prices.

"Ground frost is expected to hurt growth of mustard plants and seeds in the main growing areas,'' Patel said by phone from Rajkot. Patel has been trading edible oils for more than three decades.

"In some cases the weight of seeds and oil content will decrease,'' he said. Patel had estimated mustard seed output at between 5.0 and 5.2 million tonnes on January 22.Edible oil imports

Mustard seed, usually planted from October to November and harvested from February to March, accounts for more than 70 per cent of the nation's output of winter-sown oilseeds. Its yellow-coloured oil is the third-most used cooking oil in India after palm oil and soybean oil.

India's edible oil imports fell 25 per cent to 276,782 metric tonnes in December from 367,388 tonnes a year earlier, the Solvent Extractors' Association said on January 15. Crude palm oil imports fell 18 per cent to 253,923 tonnes, while crude soybean oil purchases rose to 7,500 tonnes in December from 7,482 tonnes.

Prices of mustard seeds for immediate delivery have risen 13 per cent in the past six months on the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange in Mumbai.