New Delhi, July 15 : The total area under kharif crop sowing during the ongoing season has increased by 10.3 per cent to cross 575 lakh hectares due to the better monsoon this year, data released by the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday said.

Last year kharif sowing at this time had covered 521.25 hectares amid erratic rains that had left some areas high and dry.

About 62.32 lakh hectares have been reported under pulse cultivation in the current Kharif season which represents a 26 per cent increase over the 49.50 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year

About 140.43 lakh hectares have been reported under oilseeds cultivation compared to 115.08 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year.

The significant increase in the area under pulses and oilseeds comes as a welcome development as the production of the two commodities tends to fall short of demand, leading to rising prices.

The country also has to take recourse to costly imports to fill the gap which entails the outgo of precious foreign exchange and the weakening of the rupee.

/IANS