

Fuel price hike may raise farm input costs ahead of kharif sowing
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India’s latest fuel price increase is expected to raise cultivation and transportation costs across the farm sector ahead of the crucial kharif sowing season, potentially adding fresh pressure on food inflation in the coming months, according to farmers, economists and agriculture experts.Oil marketing companies on Friday raised petrol and diesel prices by ₹3 per litre as a surge in global crude oil prices was hurting their margins. Following the hike, diesel prices in New Delhi rose to ₹90.67 a litre, while rates in Kolkata and Chennai increased to ₹95.13 and ₹95.25, respectively.The development assumes significance as the agriculture sector accounts for nearly two-fifths of India’s annual diesel consumption of around 92 million tonnes.
Diesel powers tractors, harvesters, irrigation pumps and transport vehicles used extensively in rural India, making fuel prices a key determinant of farm input costs.The hike also comes at a crucial time for the sector, with preparations underway for kharif sowing in several states ahead of the southwest monsoon next month. Farmers are expected to begin planting crops such as paddy, oilseeds, soybean, cotton, maize and pulses.
Kharif crops account for 47.4% of India’s total foodgrain production of 357.7 million tonnes in 2024-25.“This is a setback for the farming community as diesel is a critical input in agriculture. Any rise in diesel prices immediately increases operational costs for farmers because almost every farm activity today depends on diesel-run machinery,” said Puneet Singh, a farmer from Ambala district in Haryana.Diesel accounts for 20-25% of the total cultivation cost, including harvesting and transportation from the field to
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