NEW DELHI (Commoditiescontrol) - If the latest cotton sowing available with the authorities anything to go by, the provide lot of ambiguity to the trade. There are lot of confusion in the data released by union ministry of agriculture and state agriculture departments, which may spur speculative activity in the domestic markets. Officials revealed that such anomaly is caused by the delay in reporting of sowing data. A lack of coordination between various government agencies and lethargic attitude of government machinery causes major hurdle for real time data updation in the regime of virtual connectivity and making mockery of data digitization process.
Glimpse Of Difference
Union ministry of agriculture released sowing data of ongoing kharif sowing last Friday. As per the June 25 release, in Gujarat cotton was sown in 1 lakh hectare while the area was 5.35 lakh ha during the same period of last year. According to the Gujarat state department of agriculture data, cotton sowing completed on 7.63 lakh ha as on June 22. One wonders as to how can a sowing be reversed to 1 lakh ha in three days? The difference is huge, more than 7.5 times. Similarly, cotton sowing in Telangana is almost doubled in one day. As per Centre’s data, in Telangana cotton was sown in 8.94 lakh ha till 25 June While state agriculture department informed about sowing in 4.66 lakh ha till 24 June. Cotton sowing was carried out in 1.83 lakh ha in Rajasthan till 25 June, according to union ministry of agriculture while the state agriculture department data suggest sowing carried out in 5.10 lakh ha. It is clear that there is exist major discrepancies in sowing figures of other states also.
Reasons Behind The Discrepancies
Actually there are several government agencies who are involved in compilation of sowing data. An official of the ministry told that state departments of agriculture report the figures to concerned crop’s directorate and directorate of Economics and Statistics. Both directorates report the figures to the ministry. A crop sowing center analyse the data and seek clarification if any anomaly is found. Finally, the ministry releases the data on weekly basis during sowing period of particular season. Mr P K Saha Deputy Commissioner (Crop) in the ministry said that as per the system, difference in the sowing data of centre and state should not be too large because the data released should not be older than one or two days. But he could not explain huge difference witnessed in the current data.
State Take Firm Stance
According to the Gujarat and Rajasthan agriculture department officials, all the sowing data uploaded on the respective department's website or provided through website is correct and true reflecting the exact trend on the fields. They have put onus on the Central's government methodology which is unknown to them. According to an official, the Central government data may be based on the last years estimates. These state officials have maintained that the sowing data provided by them is perfect and are based on actual ground reality. They claimed that the Central government department would through a light on the subject matter.
Confusions May Lead Speculations
Meantime, the persisting confusion over sowing data is providing ideal breeding ground for the speculators. There are fears that due the confusion prevailing in the system, it may lead heavy speculations in the market. Many times, the traders show their mistrust on government’s figures because they feel the figures reported and compiled are not based on real survey but just a rough estimate. So, traders and trade bodies conduct their own survey and release report. However, the information provided by the government is considered to be more neutral because it does not contains trading interest. But such ambiguity will lead to increased speculations in the market, says a trader from Haryana.
| Huge Difference In Sowing Figures |
| Cotton (Area in lakh hectare) |
|
| State |
State Govt |
Central Govt |
| Andhra Pradesh |
0.558 (0.477) |
0.48 (0.69) |
| Telangana |
4.66 (2.70) |
8.94 (2.70) |
| Gujarat |
7.63 (5.36) |
1 (5.35) |
| Haryana |
5.96 (6) |
5.81 (6.38) |
| Karnataka |
2.07 (2.5) |
2.08 (1.99) |
| Madhya Pradesh |
4.35 (3.32) |
4.62 (1.27) |
| Maharashtra |
6.18 (2.28) |
5.186 (2.27) |
| Punjab |
4.32 (4.30) |
4.5 (5) |
| Rajasthan |
5.10 (4.87) |
1.83 (2.83) |
Note: Center's figure as on 25 June, while state's figure as on 22/23/24 June. Figures in brackets for same period of last season.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau; +91-22-40015533)
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