Report prepared by Religare Agri Research Department Disclaimer: http://www.religareonline.com/research/disclaimer/disclaimer_rcl.html
INTRODUCTION Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is cultivated around the world because of the commercial importance of its oil. Castor is a small annual plant. It ranges from 1 to 7 meters in height. It has well-developed roots, with green and reddish stems which become hollow with age. The fruit is a spherical capsule with small grey seeds with brown spots. The castor plant appears to have originated in eastern Africa, especially around Ethiopia. It now grows throughout the warm-temperate and tropical regions and flourishes under a variety of climatic conditions. India is the main producer in castor production in the world. The Indian variety of castor has an oil content of 48% and 42% can be extracted, while the cake retains the rest. Castor grows under tropical conditions. A hot and humid climate is required for its production. Castor oil obtained from castor seed is inedible but is of great industrial importance.
COMMERCIAL USES OF CASTOR OIL Castor is a versatile, renewable resource having vast and varied applications such as lubricating grease, surfactants, surface coatings, telecom, engineering plastics, pharma, rubber chemicals, nylons, soaps, hydraulic brake fluids, paints and polymers and perfumery products. Castor meal has uses in agriculture as organic manure. The chemical structure of castor oil is of great interest because of the wide range of reactions it affords to the oleochemical industry and the unique chemicals that can be derived from it. These derivatives are on par with petrochemical products for use in several industrial applications. In fact, they are considerably superior since they are from renewable sources, bio-degradable and eco-friendly. Castor oil and its derivatives find uses in agriculture, cosmetics, electronics & tele-communications, food, lubricants, paints, inks and adhesives, paper, perfumeries, pharmaceuticals, plastics & rubber and textile chemicals.
CROP CHARACTERISTICS Castor is a perennial crop but is grown as an annual crop for economic purpose. It is cultivated in the arid and semi-arid regions in the world. It thrives in wide range of soils and requires well distributed rainfall of 500-600 mm throughout the crop period. The crop duration is 7-8 months. In India, it is sown in July/August and harvesting commences around December/March. The seeds are then dried, de-podded, bagged and brought to the market yard for trading. The arrivals in the market start from December onwards. States June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March Gujarat Andhra Pradesh Rajasthan Sowing Growth Harvesting
PROCESSING OF CASTOR SEED Castor Seed harvested from field is dried till the pods open. Seeds are hulled by using de-hullers or by hand to remove the seed from the pod. Seed contains about 50% of oil by weight. Extraction of oil from Castor Seed is done in a manner similar to that for most other oil seeds. The ripe seeds are allowed to dry, when they split open and discharge the seeds. These seeds are cleaned, cooked and dried prior to extraction. Cooking is done to coagulate protein (necessary to permit efficient extraction), and to free the oil for efficient pressing. The first stage of oil extraction is pre-pressing, using a high pressure continuous screw press called the expeller. Extracted oil is filtered, and the material removed from the oil is fed back into the stream along with fresh material. Material finally discharged from the press, called cake, Contains 8 to 10% oil. It is crushed into a coarse meal, and subjected to solvent extraction with hexane or heptanes. USES Castor is a plant that is commercially very important to the world. Castor seed oil cake is very useful manure to crops. It is a very good fertilizer alternative containing optimum levels of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium which is suitable for cultivation of Paddy, Wheat, Maize and Sugarcane. Castor oil and its derivatives find major application in soaps, lubricants, grease, hydraulic brake fluids and polymers and perfumery products.
Indian Scenario Castor is cultivated in 30 different countries on commercial scale - of which India, China and Brazil are the major castor growing countries - accounting for 90% of the world s production. Historically, Brazil, China and India have been the key producing countries meeting global requirement India is the leader in global Castor production and dominates in international Castor oil trade. Gujarat is the chief producing state, having a share of 75% of domestic production, followed by Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. A bag packed of castor seed contains 75kg by weight. Major Producing States
Indian Scenario India is the world s largest producer of castor contributing to around 85% of world s total production and dominating the global trade with a share of more than 9% from the country. India produces around 10 lakh tons of Castor seed and around 5.5 lakh tons of Castor oil. India meets more than 80% of the demand of castor oil, thereby enjoying a dominant position in the World Castor scenario. The production in India has been witnessing an increasing trend since the 2001-2014 decade due to rising usage of castor oil in different industries. Moreover, strong export demand for castor oil was also one of the reasons for rise in production. Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh contribute 96% of the total castor seed production in India. Indian Production of Castor Seed Source : GOI
Castor Crop Survey Map
Major Producing States in India Major Producing Areas in Gujarat Source : www.mapsofindia.com
Images below are indicative of the crop in Gujarat Palanpur, Banaskantha Idar, Sabarkantha Kadi, Ahmedabad Viramgam, Ahmedabad
Images below are indicative of the crop in Gujarat Vijapur, Mehsana Radhanpur, Banaskantha Non-Irrigated Patdi, Surendra Nagar Harij, Patan Re-sown crop
Images below are indicative of the crop in Gujarat Becharaji, Mehsana One month crop Becharaji, Mehsana Excellent crop Crop harvesting started near Tharad Banaskantha Progressive farmers used pesticide in castor crop at Dhrangadhra, Surendra Nagar
Images below are indicative of the crop in Rajasthan Serodi,Shirohi, Rajasthan Excellent crop Sheoganj, Shirohi, Rajasthan Crop on Sawroopganj to Krishanganj road Shirohi Poor crop Dry crop due to not availability of water near Krishangaj Shirohi
Images below are indicative of the crop in Rajasthan Danta, Sanchor, Jalore Sayla, Jalore Sayla, Jalore Bhinmal, Jalore Non Irrigated crop
Crop Scenario 2013-14 Total area under Castor crop in India for the year 2013-14 was 9.84 lakh hectares. It decreased by 10% compared to its previous year. Total production of Castor Seed in India for 2013-14 was 12.03 lakh tonnes. It decreased by 11% as compared to its previous year. Average yield for 2013-14 was 1223 kg/hectare as against 1229 kg/hectare during 2012-13. It fell by 1% as compared to previous year. State- wise Area, Yield and Production of Castor Seed in India State (2013-14) Area Under Crop (000 ha.) Yield (Kg/Ha) Production (000 MT) % % % 12-13 13-14 Change 12-13 13-14 Change 12-13 13-14 Change Gujarat 666 622-6% 1452 1445-0.50% 967 890-14% Rajasthan 157 149-5% 1274 1122-12% 200 168-17% Andhra Pradesh 222 124-44% 674 668-1% 150 85-32% Others 51 89 74% 588 571-3% 30 60-20% Total 1096 984-10% 1229 1223-1% 1347 1203-11% Source : GOI
RELIGARE CROP SURVEY REPORT We undertook a Castor Seed crop Survey in growing areas of Gujarat and Rajasthan during last week of November 2014. In Gujarat, the districts of Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Mehsana, Patan, Gandhinagar, Surendra Nagar and Ahmedabad were covered. In Rajasthan, the districts of Jalore, Sirohi and Pali were covered. This exercise involved visiting Castor Seed fields, interacting with nearly 75 farmers, physical brokers and crop scientists of Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University and Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Deesa. REPORT Castor Seed sowing for season is estimated at 10.35 lakh hectares, which is higher than 9.84 lakh hectares of last year. Higher sowing in Gujarat this season pulled up the All India sown figure. Gujarat farmers sowed nearly 7.33 lakh hectares vs. 6.22 lakh hectares the previous season. High prices of around Rs 850 860 per 20 Kg of Castor Seed during sowing was the primary reason for higher sowing - as per farmers. The secondary reason for higher sowing in Gujarat was the delay in monsoon arrival.
Rajasthan Farmers sowed nearly 1.49 lakh hectares vs 1.92 lakh hectares the previous season. Delay in monsoon arrival during sowing time is the major reason for lower sowing - as per farmers. Andhra Pradesh & Telangana farmers sowed nearly 1.53 lakh hectares vs. 1.70 lakh hectares the previous season. Delay in monsoon arrival and low rains are the major reasons for lower sowing - as per farmers. Visiting the Castor fields of Gujarat, one got a sense that the physical traders/ brokers were very pessimistic about this year s crop. Physical traders were concerned that due to deficient rains and a phase of severe hot weather, the productivity may decrease. Farmers were not as pessimistic but were concerned about the negative impact of the hot wave on yields. Scientists however were confident that the yields were as good as, if not better than, last season and were expecting a good crop.
Crop Estimates GUJARAT Total area under Castor crop in Gujarat for the year is 7.33 lakh hectares. It has increased by 1.11lakh ha as compared to previous year figure of 6.22 lakh ha. Estimated total production of Castor Seed in Gujarat for the year is 9.90 lakh tonnes. It has increased by 11.2% as compared to previous year figure of 8.90 lakh tonnes. Average yield for the year is 1351 kg/hectare as against 1452 kg/ hectare during the year 2013-14. It has decreased by 7.5% as compared to previous year. District-wise estimated Area, Yield and Production of Castor Seed in Gujarat (2014-15) District Estimated Area *('000 ha.) Estimated Yield*(kg/ ha.) Estimated Production* ('000 Tones) # Banaskantha 135 1813 245 Sabarkantha 38 1849 70 Mehsana 78 1381 108 Patan 117 1614 189 Gandhinagar 26 1760 46 Kutch 93 474 44 Surendra Nagar 68 788 54 Jamnagar 8 760 6 Rajkot 10 855 9 Vadodara 27 1568 42 Kheda 13 1710 22 Ahmedabad 48 1789 86 Panchmahal 2 1890 4 Morbi 28 800 22 Others 42 1050 44 Total 733 1351 990 * Source : Area Data as per GOI and Yield as per Religare Research after Field Survey
Crop Estimates RAJASTHAN Total area under Castor crop in Rajasthan for the year is estimated at 1.49 lakh hectares. It has decreased marginally by 0.1% as compared to last year. Estimated total production of Castor Seed in Rajasthan for the year is 1.56 lakh tones. It has decreased by 7% as compared to previous year figure of 1.68 lakh tonnes. Average yield for the year is 1050 kg/hectare as against 1122 kg/ hectare during the year 2013-14. It has fallen by 6% as compared to previous year. District-wise estimated Area, Yield and Production of Castor Seed in Rajasthan ( ) District Estimated Area *('000 ha.) Estimated Yield*(kg/ ha.) Estimated Production* ('000 Tones) # Barmer 11 1121 12 Jalor 50 1192 60 Jodhpur 15 410 6 Pali 15 1205 18 Sirohi 37 1000 37 Others 21 1110 23 Total 149 1050 156 * Source : Area Data as per GOI and Yield as per Religare Research after Field Survey
Crop Estimates ANDHRA PRADESH Total area under Castor crop in Andhra Pradesh for the year is 0.46 lakh hectares. It has increased by 2% as compared to previous year. Estimated total production of Castor Seed in Andhra Pradesh for the year is 0.24 lakh tonne. It has decreased by 72% as compared to previous year. Average yield for the year is 527kg/hectare as against 686 kg/ hectare during the year 2013-14. District- wise Estimated Area, Yield and Production of Castor Seeds in Andhra Pradesh ( ) Estimated Area *('000 ha.) District Estimated Yield*(kg/ ha.) Estimated Production* ('000 Tones) # Guntur 0.7 513 0.4 Kurnool 32.0 490 16 Anathpur 10.0 642 6 Parkasam 2.5 513 1 Others 1.0 600 1 Total 46 527 24 * Source : Area Data as per GOI and Yield as per Last five year average
Crop Estimates ALL INDIA Total area under Castor crop in India for the year is 10.35 lakh hectares. It has increased by 5% as compared to previous year. Estimated total production of Castor Seed in India for the year is 12.30 lakh tonnes. It has decreased by 2.2% as compared to previous year. Average yield for the year is 1188kg/hectare as against 1223 kg/ hectare during the year 2013-14. It has decreased by 2.7% as compared to previous year. State- wise Estimated Area, Yield and Production of Castor Seeds in India ( ) State Estimated Area *('000 ha.) Estimated Yield*(kg/ ha.) Estimated Production* ('000 Tones) Gujarat 733 1351 990.3 Rajasthan 149 1050 156 Andhra Pradesh 46 527 24 Others 107 550 59 Total 1035 1188 1230 * Source : Area Data as per GOI and Yield as per Religare Team Research after Field Survey
TECHNICAL LEVELS NCDEX Castor Seed January contract S1 : 3700-3750 S2 : 3500-3550 R1 : 4250-4300 R2 : 4500-4550 Website: www.religareonline.com Email: agri.research@religare.com