India Rajasthan chana sowing down 39 pct so far

JAIPUR, India, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Farmers in the north western state of Rajasthan have so far completed sowing of chana on 220,000 hectares, down 39 percent from last year, due to patchy rains in the state, a senior government official said.

"As on November 3, acreage under chana stood at 220,000 hectares compared to 361,000 hectares same time last year," Harbans Singh Yadav, additional director at the state government's agriculture department told Reutes on Wednesday.

Western Rajasthan received 41 percent below-normal rains in June-September monsoon season while eastern part fell short by 30 percent, weather department data showed.

In the last winter season, farmers in the state had cultivated the pulse on 1.259 million hectares, Yadav said.

Chana prices have been rising in spot and futures markets on concerns acreage may fall sharply in Rajasthan, a major producer.

(Reporting by Arvind Sharma & Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Sunil Nair)