Kharif sowing falls 1.6% as sugarcane area dips marginally in 2026-27
India’s sugarcane acreage stood at 58.47 lakh hectares as of September 4, 2026, down 0.69% year-on-year but above normal levels. Overall kharif sowing declined 1.60%, while rice, oilseeds, cotton and coarse cereals fell. Pulses rose 1.60%, supported by higher urad acreage.
India’s sugarcane acreage stood at 58.47 lakh hectares as on September 4, 2026, marginally lower than the 58.87 lakh hectares sown during the corresponding period last year, according to the latest kharif crop sowing data released by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The area under sugarcane was down 0.69 per cent year-on-year, though it remained above the normal, or long-period average, sown area of 54.20 lakh hectares for the crop, the data showed.
Overall kharif sowing across the country stood at 1,086.31 lakh hectares as of the same date, down 1.60 per cent from 1,104.00 lakh hectares sown during the corresponding period of 2025-26, and marginally below the normal area of 1,104.44 lakh hectares, according to the Crop Weather Watch Group (CWWG) data cited in the report.
Rice recorded the sharpest decline among major crops, with the sown area falling 3.74 per cent to 421.82 lakh hectares from 438.19 lakh hectares a year earlier. Area under oilseeds slipped 0.56 per cent to 191.99 lakh hectares, while cotton acreage was down 0.63 per cent at 109.17 lakh hectares. Coarse cereals, clubbed under the Shri Anna cum Coarse Cereals category, edged 0.60 per cent lower at 181.39 lakh hectares.
In contrast, total pulses sowing rose 1.60 per cent to 117.13 lakh hectares, supported by a sharp 11.95 per cent increase in urad acreage, even as moong and other pulses recorded declines. Area under jute and mesta was up 1.68 per cent at 6.34 lakh hectares.
Among individual oilseeds, sesamum acreage rose 15.15 per cent and sunflower area nearly doubled, though both remained small in absolute terms, while castorseed sowing fell 13.61 per cent.
The data, compiled on a progressive weekly basis, is expected to be updated in subsequent DA&FW reports as sowing activity continues in the remaining kharif window.
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Source : ChiniMandi
