India is one the largest castor seed producing countries in the world. The production in india has been witnessing an increasing trend since beginning of the current decade due to increased usage of castor oil in different industries.

According to the SEA , the area under castor crop in india for 2011-12 is estimated 12.78 Lakh hectares – an increase of 44.63% in comparison to the previous year. The estimated production of castor seed in india for 2011-12 is 16.5 lakh tonnes – an increase of 37.5 % in comparison to the previous year.

Indian Castor seed Area, Production and Yield

Global Scenario:-
The world castor seed crop in 2011-12 is estimated at 20.85 lakh tonnes as against 15.94 lakh tonnes last year. India crop size is expected at 16.5 lakh tonnes as against 12 lakh tonnes previous year. China’s crop is expected to go up from 1.01 lakh tonnes in 2010-11 to 1.80 lakh tonnes in 2011-12. Brazil’s crop size is also estimated upward from 1.01 lakh tonnes to 1.41 lakh tonnes. Large crop does not mean low prices as farmers have not only matured but also become financially strong. At low prices they will choke supplies in market.

Global Demand of Oil:-
• In 2011 india exported approximately 3.55 lakh tonnes of castor oil as compared to 4 lakh tonnes in 2010 which is lower by 11.25%. This is mainly due to record high price during 1st half of 2011.
•Looking at present price scenario we expect of castor oil & derivatives from india may go up by at least 25% to 30% due to comfortable supply and reasonable price level .