Castor loses ground in Gujarat, output down by 27% in 2016-17

AHMEDABAD: Castor seed production in Gujarat is expected to fall by 27% in 2016-17 because of reduction in the area cultivated for castor. Farmers prefering cultivation of groundnut, cotton and pulses has led to a 28% decline in acreage cultivated for castor in the state.
According to the Castor Crop Survey 2016-17 released by Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), castor production in Gujarat is expected to be 8.61 lakh tonnes in 2015-16 as compared to 11.73 lakh tonnes the previous year. SEA is a national-level vegetable oil industry association.
Gujarat produces the maximum castor seed among Indian states and accounted for 82% of India’s total castor output in 2015-16. The decline in production is mainly attributed to lower acreage. The total area under castor crop remained low at 5.65 lakh hectares in 2016-17 as against 7.81 lakh hectares in 2015-16, the report says.
“Castor acreage witnessed a drop this year as farmers shifted to other crops such as groundnut, cotton and pulses which had offered better prices last year. North Gujarat saw farmers opting for groundnut,” said BV Mehta, executive director, SEA.All the major castor seed growing areas such as Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Aravalli, Patan, Kutch, Surendranagar and Vadodara reported lower acreage this season.
However, the average yield in the state improved slightly to 1,524 kg per hectare as against 1,502 kg a hectare earlier. In fact, castor output is estimated to decline across India with other major producers such as Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana reporting decline in production due to reduceds acreage under castor cultivationo.
“The estimated total production of castor seeds in India for the year 2016-17 is 10.67 lakh tonnes, which is 25% lower than 14.23 lakh tonne in 2015-16,” the report says.
The area under castor cultivation across the country stood at 8.45 lakh hectares in 2016-17, which shows a decline of 26% over 11.36 lakh hectares in the previous year.