NEW DELHI, INDIA — Record acreage, high domestic prices and a good monsoon is expected to boost India’s rapeseed production to produce 10.8 million tonnes in 2021-22, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture.

In 2020-21, India produced an estimated 8.5 million tonnes and planted 8.2 million hectares.

Rapeseed meal exports fell 66% from October 2021 to January 2022. In December 2021, exports were down almost 91% compared to the previous year, the USDA said.

“This drastic reduction occurred as India’s 2020-21 rapeseed crop supply was crushed mostly during the early months of the season, thereby affecting availability for late-year exports,” the USDA said. “New crop crushing should ensue by the end of February 2022 onward.”

Top importers include South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh and Taiwan.