India mustard crushing rises 23% on year to 400,000 tn in January

• 08 Feb, 2019
• India

By Kaushal Verma

NEW DELHI – Mustard oil mills across the country crushed 400,000 tn of the oilseed in January, up 23.1% on year, according to data compiled by the Mustard Oil Producers Association of India. 

Upbeat demand from mustard meal exporters ramped up the crushing operations, the official said. 

India's mustard meal exports were at 34,270 tn in January, up from  24,980 tn a year ago, according to data released by The Solvent Extractors' Association of India today.

Mustard meal exports are also seen strong in the near future owing to firm demand from South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, traders said. 

Crushing could have been higher but mustard seed arrivals shrank with the start of the lean season, he said.

However, mustard crushing declined 27.3% on month from 550,000 tn in December.

Mustard, a crucial rabi oilseed, is sown during Sep-Oct and harvested from February. New crop arrivals begin in February and gain momentum by March. Supply remains in full swing till May, and begins to shrink from June.

During Mar 1-Jan 31, total mustard seed supply was at 7.3 mln tn. Arrivals in Rajasthan, the top producer, were at 2.42 mln tn, 1.13 mln tn in Uttar Pradesh, and a combined 565,000 tn in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the official said.

Stocks with farmers, processors, stockists and state-run agencies were at 550,000 tn, he said.Mustard production in the country is seen at 7.5 mln tn in 2018-19 (Jul-Jun), up 7.1% from 7.0 mln tn in the previous year due to higher yields this year, Mustard Oil Producers Association of India General Secretary Jyoti Kanda Aggarwal said."Weather was favourable for higher yields, winter rains were adequate, day and night temperatures were within the required range and there was no report of any pest attack in large scale," he said, adding that higher minimum support also attracted farmers to add more area under the crop this year.

Mustard crop acreage across the country was at 6.58 mln ha as of Thursday, up 3.1% on year, according to farm ministry data. For the entire season, the acreage was higher than the five-year average of 6.13 mln ha.The government has fixed the minimum support price for mustard at 4,200 rupees per 100 kg in 2018-19 against 4,000 rupees the previous year.  Mustard accounts for 25% of the country's total oilseed production and about 80% of the rabi oilseed basket.

Source: http://www.cogencis.com/newssection/india-mustard-crushing-rises-23-on-year-to-400000-tn-in-january/