Drought may reduce Indian oilseeds harvest
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
NEW DELHI, Aug. 24 (Bloomberg): India, the world's biggest buyer of palm oil after China, may produce fewer monsoon-sown oilseeds as dry weather in the main growing areas reduced sowing of peanuts.
Output may be 12 to 15 per cent less than the 15.07 million tons produced in the monsoon crop last year, Govindlal G. Patel, director of Dipak Enterprises, said in an interview today. Patel, 70, has been trading oilseeds for more than four decades.
Higher vegetable oil purchases by the South Asian country may help stem a slide in the price of palm oil, which has fallen 14 per cent since reaching a nine-month high in May. The tropical oil accounts for 90 per cent of India's edible oil bought abroad.
Oilseeds were planted on 15.25 million hectares as of Aug. 12, down from 16.4 million hectares at the same time last year, the farm ministry said Aug. 13. Farmers may pare area by as much as 1.8 million hectares from 18.44 million hectares sown for the monsoon crop last year, because of inadequate rains, Patel said.
Cooking oil imports may total 8.4 million tons in the year starting November, 5 per cent more than estimated for this year, Patel said in July.
Output may be 12 to 15 per cent less than the 15.07 million tons produced in the monsoon crop last year, Govindlal G. Patel, director of Dipak Enterprises, said in an interview today. Patel, 70, has been trading oilseeds for more than four decades.
Higher vegetable oil purchases by the South Asian country may help stem a slide in the price of palm oil, which has fallen 14 per cent since reaching a nine-month high in May. The tropical oil accounts for 90 per cent of India's edible oil bought abroad.
Oilseeds were planted on 15.25 million hectares as of Aug. 12, down from 16.4 million hectares at the same time last year, the farm ministry said Aug. 13. Farmers may pare area by as much as 1.8 million hectares from 18.44 million hectares sown for the monsoon crop last year, because of inadequate rains, Patel said.
Cooking oil imports may total 8.4 million tons in the year starting November, 5 per cent more than estimated for this year, Patel said in July.