Progress of Area Coverage under Kharif Crops as on 12.06.2026
The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has released the progress of area coverage under Kharif crops as of June 12, 2026, showing a total sown area of 84.60 lakh hectares, which represents a decrease of 3.44 lakh hectares compared to the same period in 2025 when the area stood at 88.04 lakh hectares.
Rice cultivation shows positive momentum with 4.98 lakh hectares sown, significantly higher than the 3.88 lakh hectares covered during the same period last year, representing an increase of 1.09 lakh hectares. This compares favorably against the normal area of 412.00 lakh hectares and final area coverage of 446.70 lakh hectares in 2025.
Pulses overall show a concerning decline with only 1.55 lakh hectares sown compared to 2.73 lakh hectares in 2025, a decrease of 1.18 lakh hectares. Within pulses, arhar decreased by 0.12 lakh hectares (0.09 vs 0.21 lakh hectares), urdbean decreased by 0.07 lakh hectares (0.27 vs 0.35 lakh hectares), and moongbean showed the largest decline of 0.86 lakh hectares (0.69 vs 1.54 lakh hectares). Kulthi was the only pulse showing a marginal increase of 0.02 lakh hectares.
Coarse cereals show mixed performance with an overall increase of 0.45 lakh hectares to 4.77 lakh hectares. Bajra recorded significant growth of 0.91 lakh hectares (1.15 vs 0.24 lakh hectares), while maize decreased by 0.32 lakh hectares (2.28 vs 2.59 lakh hectares). Jowar, ragi, and small millets showed minor changes.
Oilseeds remained largely stable with 3.51 lakh hectares sown, showing a negligible decrease of 0.02 lakh hectares from last year. Groundnut increased by 0.30 lakh hectares (2.57 vs 2.27 lakh hectares), while soybean decreased by 0.20 lakh hectares (0.70 vs 0.90 lakh hectares).
Sugarcane area shows minimal change at 54.08 lakh hectares compared to 54.29 lakh hectares last year, a decrease of 0.21 lakh hectares. Jute & Mesta area increased marginally by 0.10 lakh hectares to 6.18 lakh hectares.
The most significant decline was observed in cotton, with only 9.53 lakh hectares sown compared to 13.19 lakh hectares in 2025, representing a substantial decrease of 3.66 lakh hectares. This data provides early indicators of crop patterns for the 2026 Kharif season, with the normal area benchmark set at 1104.46 lakh hectares and final area coverage of 1134.27 lakh hectares achieved in 2025.