Except for wheat, sowing operations for rabi season started in a low pace and the sowing is expected to pick up momentum in the coming days.

According to a Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy press note, nearly 30.6 million hectares were sown as of November 23, against 34.5 million hectares a year ago.

Wheat, gram and rapeseed-mustard are the major rabi crops this time. They account for 67 per cent of the normal area sown in the rabi season.

Sowing of these crops was lagging behind in the current season compared with the last season, CMIE said.

Wheat acreage reported till November 23 was 8 million hectares, down by 23 per cent over 10.45 million hectares sown a year ago. Wheat accounts for 45 per cent of normal sown area.

Wheat sowing progress was poor in all the major producing states, except in Punjab. The acreage in Uttar Pradesh was down to 1.3 million hectares till November 23 as against 2..2 million hectares a year ago. In Madhya Pradesh, area sown was 1.3 million hectares as against 2.1 million hectares.

Despite the slow progress of sowing in the initial weeks, CMIE expects wheat sowing to accelerate in the coming week.

Overall acreage is expected to remain higher than in the previous year. Consequently, wheat production is estimated to reach 75.6 million tonnes during 2007-08, higher than the 74.9 million tonnes in the preceding year, the CMIE note said.

There is no reason for the farmers to cultivate less wheat in the current rabi season. Wheat has become a remunerative crop on account of hike in minimum support prices by the government and rise in prices in the open market.

Government hiked minimum support prices for wheat by Rs 150 a quintal to Rs 1,000 a quintal from Rs 850 a quintal in the previous year. In addition to this, international wheat scenario is not satisfactory.

World wheat production is expected to remain lower than in the previous year.

With the hike in 2007-08, average increase in MSP of wheat during 2004-05 to 2007-08 works out to 12 per cent a year, while the overall wholesale price index saw an average rise of 5.4 per cent a year.