Chennai,   Scanty rainfall has lowered the kharif sowing area for pulses and oilseeds and sowing of rice will also be affected, states a report by the Bank of Baroda.

According to the report, the eastern region continues to receive deficient rainfall.

"Acreage of pulses and oilseeds have declined. Rice sowing is expected to be hit further. Out of 36 subdivisions, six have received deficient rainfall during this period and six states are in the deficient zone," it said.

However, it said that the southern states have recorded the highest storage levels compared with other regions, and this bodes well for rabi sowing.

As of August 12, 2022, sown area of pulses (4 per cent) and oilseeds (0.8 per cent) has declined compared with last year.

Within pulses, significant drop in sown area has been registered in arhar (11.7 per cent) and urad (4.6 per cent). Area sown for jute and mesta has also declined by 1 per cent.

Total sown area of rice had also registered a dip in the previous week. On the other hand, acreage of cotton and sugarcane had improved by 5.3 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively, the report said.

The Kharif sowing this year: cereals 37.4 million hectares (2021-22 - 40.2 mn ha), rice 23.2 mn ha (26.7 mn ha), pulses 12.2 mn ha (12.7 mn ha), oilseeds 18 mn ha (18.2 mn ha), cotton 11.8 mn ha (11.2 mn ha), sugarcane 5.5 mn ha (5.4 mn ha), jute and mesta 0.7 mn ha (0.7 mn ha).

According to the report, the data for cereals, rice, cotton and sugarcane is as of August 5 and for others, the data is on July 29.