Kharif Oilseeds Acreage Climbs 3% as July Monsoon Recovers Ground

After nearly two months of below-target sowing, India's Kharif oilseeds acreage has climbed to 180.20 lakh hectares (lh) — approximately 3% higher than the comparable period last year — reversing a deficit that had raised fears of another disappointing season. A senior government official attributed the swing to a well-distributed July monsoon, noting that not only was the initial shortfall made up, but coverage has now moved ahead. This marks the fourth season under the Oilseeds Mission launched in Rabi 2024. The first two seasons saw lower acreage; only the most recent Rabi season recorded an area increase, driven by firm mustard prices in mandis. Officials are now cautiously optimistic that the positive trajectory will hold through August and push acreage toward the season's normal level of around 200 lh.

The crop-level data, however, tell a split story:

• Groundnut: 46.82 lh, up 8.6% — the strongest performer among major oilseeds.
• Soyabean: 119.92 lh, marginally higher by 0.2%, anchoring overall acreage given its dominant share.
• Sesamum: 9.96 lh, up a sharp 16.9%.
• Castor seed: 2.27 lh, down a steep 23%.

The castor seed shortfall is concentrated in Gujarat, India's largest castor-growing state, where acreage has fallen by 44% to just 1.3 lh. The government has set an ambitious Kharif 2026 production target of 21.50 lakh tonnes for castor — a figure that now looks increasingly difficult to achieve given the early sowing data. The actual Kharif 2025 oilseeds output stood at 266.68 lakh tonnes from 196.38 lh, a benchmark the current season must surpass to meet the 289.25 lakh tonne goal.

The monsoon arithmetic remains uneven. Rainfall was 35% deficient in June, barely recovered to a 1% surplus in July, and slipped again to 4% below normal in the first week of August. Cumulatively, precipitation between June 1 and August 7 is running 11% below the long-period average across the country.

Among the key oilseeds-growing states, the early-August picture is concerning:

• Madhya Pradesh: 56% deficient rainfall
• Maharashtra: 25% below normal
• Rajasthan: 20% below normal

Officials were quick to note, however, that all three states received adequate rainfall in the last week of July, providing some cushion to standing crops. On the surplus side, Gujarat recorded 60% excess, Uttar Pradesh 36%, Tamil Nadu 45%, and Karnataka 24% in the same week. Telangana reported a 22% shortfall in early August, though its season-to-date deficit is a more manageable 5%.

The government has set out detailed Kharif 2026 production targets under the National Oilseeds Mission:

Crop Target (lakh tonnes) Soyabean 148.50 Groundnut 113.50 Castor 21.50 Sesamum 4.20 Total oilseeds 289.25

The area target stands at 206.45 lh — still 26.25 lh above the current coverage of 180.20 lh. With August sowing still underway for some crops, there is a window to close part of the gap, but the scale of ambition underscores how much the Centre is counting on a favourable close to the monsoon season. Oilseeds import dependency makes every lakh hectare of domestic acreage count for food inflation and the current account.