Soybean production is expected to improve with the indication of tremendous increase in sowing area
04-Jul-2024 06:25 PM
Indore. Although the wholesale market price of soybean - the main oilseed crop of the procurement season - has generally been revolving around the minimum support price during the current marketing season of 2023-24, it seemed that farmers would show less interest in its cultivation during the current Kharif season, but contrary to expectations, an unexpected increase is being seen in the area of this oilseed.
Data from the Union Agriculture Ministry shows that during the current year, the production area of soybean jumped to 33.66 lakh hectares at the national level till June 28, 2024, which is 32.03 lakh hectares more than the sowing area of 1.63 lakh hectares on the same date of the year 2023.
The normal average area of soybean for the current Kharif season has been estimated at 122.95 lakh hectares, while sowing has been completed in more than 25 percent of its area. According to industry analysts, due to the continued huge import of cheap soybean oil from Argentina and Brazil, the price of this important oilseed is not able to rise much in the domestic sector.
Despite this, tremendous enthusiasm and attraction is being seen among the farmers towards its cultivation because on one hand there is good rain of southwest monsoon and secondly, the central government has increased the minimum support price of soybean by 6.3 percent as compared to 2023-24 and fixed Rs 4892 per quintal for the 2024-25 season.
There is also a lot of pressure on the government to prove its significance by ensuring adequate procurement of pulses and oilseeds at the minimum support price. With this, farmers hope that they can get a better price for the next crop of soybean.
The top three soybean producing states include Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Apart from this, it is also produced in some other states including Karnataka,
Gujarat and Chhattisgarh. According to government estimates, 126 lakh tonnes of soybean was produced domestically in the 2023-24 season. Critics say that given the tremendous increase in sowing area, production may increase significantly in the 2024-25 marketing season (October-September).