By Rajendra Jadhav
MUMBAI (Reuters) -India is likely to receive an average amount of monsoon rainfall – critical to the economy – in August after 5% more than normal volumes of rain in July, a senior weather department official said on Thursday.
The monsoon is the lifeblood of India’s nearly $4 trillion economy, delivering almost 70% of the rainfall needed to provide water for farms and replenish aquifers and reservoirs.
Nearly half of India’s farmland is not irrigated and depends on the June-September monsoon rains for crop growth.
In the first half of the monsoon season, India received 106% of the 50-year average rainfall, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told a virtual news conference.
In August, rainfall is likely to be above average in many parts of the country, with the exception of some areas in the central and northeastern states and western parts of peninsular India, where it is likely to be below normal, he said.
The country is likely to receive above average, or more than 106% of average rainfall, in September, he added.
Farmers usually start planting summer-sown crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans and sugarcane after the arrival of monsoon rains.
The early arrival of monsoon and above-average rainfall has accelerated planting of summer-sown crops, farm ministry data showed this week.
Farmers had planted 83 million hectares with summer-sown crops by Monday, up 4% on the same period last year.
The forecast of average rainfall in August is favourable for newly planted crops, even if a short break occurs during the month, said Ashwini Bansod at Mumbai-based brokerage Phillip Capital India.
“Above-average rainfall is predicted for September, which is beneficial unless abnormally high rainfall occurs within a short period,” Bansod said.
Summer-sown crops start maturing in September, and in the past, heavy rainfall has damaged crops ready for harvesting.
India is the world’s biggest exporter of rice and also the biggest importer of vegetable oils such as palm oil, soyoil, and sunflower oil. The monsoon usually dictates Indian exports and imports of farm commodities.
(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Hugh Lawson)
