Oilseed Sowing Surpasses Last Year's Levels, Driven by Groundnut

04-Aug-2026 05:21 PM

New Delhi. The total area under oilseed crops in the current Kharif season has surpassed that of the previous season for the first time, driven by groundnut acreage exceeding last year's figures and soybean sowing area coming very close to the previous year's levels. As of the week ending July 24, the oilseed crop area had been trailing last year's figures by 2 percent.

According to the latest data from the Union Ministry of Agriculture, the total area under oilseed crops for the current Kharif season reached 172.32 lakh hectares by July 31, 2026—an increase of 1.19 lakh hectares over the 171.13 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year. Specifically, the area under groundnut rose from 41.90 lakh hectares to 43.06 lakh hectares. Although the soybean sowing area reached 117.68 lakh hectares, it remained 84,000 hectares (or 0.7 percent) behind the previous year's figure of 118.52 lakh hectares.

The Ministry of Agriculture has set production targets for the 2026-27 Kharif season at 148.50 lakh tonnes for soybean and 113.50 lakh tonnes for groundnut, with a total oilseed production target of 289.20 lakh tonnes. Apart from these two, other oilseeds such as sesame, sunflower, and castor are also produced in significant quantities during the Kharif season.

While sowing for soybean and groundnut has been satisfactory and crop conditions are currently reported to be normal, weather conditions and the monsoon during August and September will play a decisive role in final production. In Madhya Pradesh, groundnut acreage is trailing by 64,000 hectares, whereas the soybean area is ahead by 28,000 hectares. In Maharashtra, soybean sowing is lagging behind.