India is the largest producer of groundnut in the world (32% of world production). There has been appreciable increase in the area (68.5%) and production (163%) of the crop between 1950-51 and 1998-99. Maximum increase in the area has been noted in the decade of 1950-51 and 1960-61 (43.8 percent) while the decade 1980-81 and 1990-91 has been very favourable in respect of production (50.0 per cent). This increase in the area coverage of the crop has been at the expanse of cotton, jowar, bajra and cotton.
Groundnut is a popular crop of South India. FourPeninsularstates-Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat together contribute over 80 per cent of the area and production of groundnut in the country.
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh is the third largest producer accounting for 24.69% of the total area and 18.79% of the total production of the crop in the country.
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With 34.08 per cent of the total groundnut area Gujarat contributes 25.10 per cent of the total 1 groundnut production of the country. There has been some decline in the area (-0.11 percentannually)but the production has shown rising trend due to use of HYV (-2.4 per cent annually) between 1977-78 and 1997-98. Junagadh, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Amreli districts together contribute 76 per cent of the state’s groundnut production (23% of India). Other important producers include Bhavnagar, Sabarkantha, Kachchh, Panchmahals, and Surat districts.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra occupies fifth place in the area (7.07%) and production (10.04%) of groundnut in the country. About two-third of the state’s production is obtained from Jalgaon, Dhule, Nasik, Amravati, Yavatmal, Satara, Sangli and Osmanabad districts. Here area and production of the crop are declining at an average annual rate of 3.08 and 2.38 per cent respectively between 1983-84 and 1995-96. But more recently (between 1995-96 and 1997-98) both area (4.01 per cent annual and production (3.64 pe;r cent annual) have shown rising trends.
Madhya Pradesh
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Madhya Pradesh accounts for 3.19 per cent the total area and 2.77 percent of the total productio of groundnut in the country. Here groundnut grow ing area is confined to the western part of the st where Mandsaur, West Nimar, Dhar, Rajgarha Shajapur districts are the main producers accountiii for 53 per cent of the state’s output of groundnut. T state has recorded 18.91 per cent decline in thea but 11.20 per cent increase in the production groundnut between 1983-84 and 1997-98.
Others
Groundnut is also produced in Rajasth; (Jaipur, Chittaurgarh, Sawaimadhopur, Bhilwa Bharatpur and Tonkdistricts),UttarPradesh (Hard Badaun, Sitapur, Bareilly, Moradabad, Kheri a Unnao districts), Orissa (Cuttack, Sambalpur, Ganj Puri, Dhenkanal and Bolangir districts), Punj (Ludhiana, Sangarur, Patiala and Jalandhar a Kapurthala districts accunting for 81 per cent of state’s groundnut production).
Trade
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About 75 per cent of the total groundn production of the state enters the trade betw
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu. Gujarat and Punjab. India is a major exporter of groundnut in the world. In 1977-78 it exported 8.54 lakh tones of groundnut meal valued at Rs. 133 crores to European countries. The bulk of the export goes to Russia, U.K., Italy, Sweden, Germany, Canada, France, Belgium and Switzerland. About two-third of the export is from Maharashtra and Gujarat. In internal consumption vanaspati industry is the largest consumer of groundnut in the country.