Oilseed output may rise after monsoon

The country's monsoon oilseed production may increase this year as higher prices and rains boost planting.

Output of oilseeds, including peanut and soybeans, may rise from 13.93 million tonnes a year earlier, Agriculture Secretary P K Mishra said, without providing any estimates. "Oilseeds output will certainly be higher than that of last year, because rains have been good," Mishra said in New Delhi today. "The cultivated area has also risen this year and the crop condition is good."

A bigger harvest in India may mean lower palm oil prices in Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's biggest producers of the commodity. Palm oil prices on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange have gained 50 per cent in the past year, partly because of rising demand from China and India.