The acreage of soybean in India may go up by 5-7% this year, according to Soybean Processors Association of India (SPAI). The total area under soybean cultivation in India was 10.75 million hectare last year (Kharif 2012). SPAI expects that some area under cotton cultivation in state of Maharashtra may shift to soybean and Madhya Pradesh may see at least 0.2 million hectare increase this year. Soybean is a rain-fed kharif crop and it is sown in June-July every year. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are number one and number two soybean producers in India respectively.
As per SOPA data, last year the total area under soybean in Madhya Pradesh was 5.813 million hectare and Maharashtra was 3.212 million. The farmers give first preference to soybean as it has got better price realization compared with other crops. The current soybean prices in Madhya Pradesh mandi auctions are at Rs 3,700-3,800 per 100 kg. Plant delivery prices are in Rs 3,800-3,925 per 100 kg range.
In Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, farmers have prepared their fields and are eagerly awaiting another spell of rains. Due to good pre-monsoon activity, soybean sowing is likely to start early in growing states while some traders in physical markets feel sowing has already started in small pockets in some Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra districts.
