Higher support prices, strong demand for edible oil fueling mustard area expansion | Today’s news
New Delhi: Farmers are likely to plant more mustard this winter, helped by the higher price of government support and the need to buy less cooking oil from abroad.
Mustard area under cultivation in the ongoing 2026-27 rabi season is expected to reach 9.50 million hectares, up from 9.42 million a year earlier, said Vijay Veer Singh, director of the ICAR-Indian Institute of Rapeseed-Mustard Research in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, the country’s largest mustard producing state. Better seeds and hybrid varieties should help farmers grow more per hectare.
The timing is important because India buys about 60% of its edible oil from other countries and the war in West Asia has made those imports more expensive and difficult to transport.
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Even if yields remain where they were, the next area could increase mustard production to 13.9 million tonnes this season, up from 13.77 million last year, assuming productivity remains at 1,460 kg per hectare.
Key things
- Higher support prices continue to attract farmers to grow mustard across the country.
- The growth in demand for edible oil is supporting the expansion of mustard acreage.
- Improved seed varieties could help increase production and farm income.
- Rice eel offers significant untapped potential for mustard expansion.
- Lack of moisture remains the biggest risk for acreage growth.
Meanwhile, edible oil demand is forecast to rise to 26.5 million tonnes in FY27 from 25.7 million tonnes a year earlier, Mint reported on October 22.
However, experts recommend constant monitoring of crop conditions. According to Singh, availability of moisture is likely to be the major constraint on mustard acreage in 2026-27, while favorable prices and relatively lower need for irrigation of the crop compared to wheat could encourage planting where conditions permit.
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Haryana are the five major mustard growing regions in the country. Other states include Jharkhand, Assam, Gujarat, Bihar, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
Higher support prices
The The minimum support price (MSP) for rapeseed and mustard is ₹6,613 per quintal for the current rabi marketing season, approved by the government on September 30, 2026, reflecting an increase of ₹413 per quintal compared to the previous year, which according to experts will lead to cultivation of the area.
According to data from CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, the highest area of 9.42 million hectares was achieved in 2025-26 and the highest productivity of 1524 kg per hectare was achieved in 2020-21. The area under mustard has increased from 6.70 million hectares in 2020-21 to 9.42 million hectares in 2025-26. This represents an increase of 40.6% over five years. The crop is at saturation stage in some states while it is increasing in some states.
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“We expect mustard acreage to remain healthy this rabi season too, supported by favorable prices and steady demand. If weather conditions remain favourable, acreage could see another increase over last year,” said Namit Singla, a Delhi-based trader.
“Mustard crop has become an attractive crop due to reasonably good yield, consistent rise in MSP and market price above MSP. The area has shifted to mustard from wheat and other site-specific rabi crops,” said Baldev Raj Kamboj, Vice-Chancellor, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (Haryana).
Mustard cultivation has proven to be a good alternative to wheat in the core area of the rice-wheat cropping system due to equal or higher returns.
As for Haryana, according to Kamboja, mustard was grown in an area of 649,000 hectares with a production of 1.46 million tonnes and a productivity of 2,255 kg per hectare (2025-26). “In the coming rabi season, mustard area in Haryana is likely to increase by 6-10%, supported by availability of high-yielding seed varieties and favorable minimum support price,” Kamboj added. “Farmers are expected to expand sowing as improved seeds promise better productivity, while profitable support prices will strengthen the economic appeal of the crop.”
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Suitable short-duration mustard varieties can help to acquire additional land lying fallow for oilseeds, especially in eastern India. Rice fallow is arable land where a kharif The season’s rice crop is harvested and the land is left uncultivated or “fallow” during the following years. rabbi season).
According to Singh, these are efforts to expand mustard cultivation in rice fallow areas are gaining attention in several states, with region-specific strategies being considered to increase oilseed production. ICAR’s Vision 2050 for the Directorate of Rapeseed and Mustard Research estimated that there were approximately 11.65 million hectares of paddy fallow land in the eastern and northeastern states. It suggested that planting even 10% of this area with canola-mustard could increase oilseed production by at least 1 million tons.
