Sowing as of December which accounts for ~81% of the total sowing in rabi season, was down 5.25% on-year to 476 lakh hectare compared with 502.5 lakh hectare in the previous rabi season.
This is of concern, because the rabi crop accounts for ~40% of India’s agricultural produce (based on key 14 crops which account for 97% of total agricultural produce except sugarcane and horticulture crops), in both volume and value terms.
While all major crops have seen a decline in area sown, crops that account for ~5-7% of total rabi production have shown an increase and wheat that contributes over 65% to total rabi production has remained flat. Coarse cereals have seen a sharp decline of ~20.4% on-year, with the maximum shortfall being in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Unless the sowing situation improves in the next few weeks, there could be a trickle-down effect on the sectors being driven by rural India.
