Indian farmers reduce the area under rice and increase the area under cotton

Farmers in the world’s second-largest rice producer had planted 39.9 million hectares of rice as of Sept. 16, down 4.5 percent from a year earlier, according to India’s Agriculture Ministry. India’s agriculture ministry said sugarcane sown area has risen to 5.57 million hectares from 5.5 million hectares a year ago, and cotton planted area increased to 12.72 million hectares from 11.82 million hectares.

According to the India Meteorological Department, monsoon rainfall in India was 7 percent higher than average as of Sept. 16. Monsoon crop sowing usually begins in late May, peaking in July, with harvesting beginning in late September.

Source: BoE Guru