From the archive record
Mustard output in Rajasthan, India’s top producing state, will rise more than a fifth this year, according to a government estimate, but some farmers voiced scepticism of the forecast as lower sowing levels and a warm winter could hurt the crop. Despite planting lagging behind in India’s parched farms during a hotter-than-normal winter, the first official estimate of Rajasthan state that accounts for about half of the country’s total output of the oilseed, suggests yields could still be better than last year. India is the biggest vegetable oil importer in the world, spending more than $10 billion a year to buy mainly palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia. Overseas purchases have been rising steadily as local output falls and a growing population consumes more fried food. Temperatures in par