MUMBAI (Commodity Online): Castor seed futures in NCDEX hits lower circuit on Wednesday on profit booking due to weak domestic demand. Higher production estimates due to heavy rain in major producing regions also put pressure on prices.

In NCDEX Castor Seed October contract traded in the evening session at Rs.3284 per quintal, a decline of 3.97% and open interest of the contract stood at 53290 lots for the time being.

The castor acreage across the country was recorded at 1.17 million hectares in 2011. However, according to the data provided by the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), the area covered under castor crop at present is still higher than the normal sowing area of 0.78 million hectares.