Chennai, Jul 12 (IANS): The Kharif sown area is likely to pick up in the coming weeks, though it has decreased by 9.3 per cent this year as compared to the same period last year, said Bank of Baroda in a report.

However, Khaif sowing of pulses (1 per cent) has registered an improvement, Bank of Baroda said in its report.

According to the report, for the week ended July 8, 2022, the overall kharif sown area has fallen by 9.3 per cent compared with last year.

The report said, the sown area of rice and cereals has declined by 24 per cent and 13.7 per cent respectively. Further, decline in sowing area of oilseeds (20.3 per cent), sugarcane (0.5 per cent) and cotton (0.2 per cent) were noticed.

The Government of India in June'22 had hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of Kharif crops -four to eight per cent hike- with the objective to provide remunerative prices and encourage crop diversification.

Against this backdrop, however, the sowing of Kharif crops has started on a relatively sombre note compared with last year.

With the advancement of rainfall and expectations of a normal South-West monsoon as per India Meteorological Department (IMD), sown activity is likely to pick up in the coming weeks, Bank of Baroda said.

The total area that has been sown for the week ended July 8, 2022 was 40.67 million hectares as against 44.82 million hectares sown during the comparable period last year, the report said.