Monsoon loses steam, raises crop concerns | Economic Times

PUNE | NEW DELHI: After a blistering start in June, the southwest monsoon has stuttered, falling far short of normal in the fertile planes of northern and central India as well as parts of Maharashtra, sparking concerns about output of key crops if rainfall does not strengthen in a week.Bountiful rainfall in June prompted farmers to speed up crop planting, which remains much higher than this time last year, but farmers who sowed oilseeds, pulses, cotton and coarse grain in areas with erratic rainfall are beginning to worry."Some districts in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have not received sufficient rainfall, which may affect the crop growth," said Suresh Agarwal, president, All India Dal Millers Association.Rainfall across India in July, a crucial month for farming, is 9% below normal, with a deficit of 20-27% in parts of northern, central and western India. But there is no need to ring the alarm bell yet as crops will revive if the monsoon revives quickly in these areas.77274042"If we receive rainfall during the next 10 days, the situation can remain under control. Also, good increase in area under sowing and good weather condition in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and parts of Maharashtra, may compensate for any losses in productivity in other states," said Nitin Kalantry, a pulses processor from Maharashtra.The good news is that rainfall is indeed expected to strengthen in the next two weeks, the head of long-range forecasting at India Meteorological Department (IMD), Sivananda Pai, told ET. Northern India has seen heavy showers in the past two days. He said monsoon lost momentum because there were no low-pressure area since June 22. IMD data shows 26 out of 33 districts in Rajasthan have received deficit rainfall. As much as 32 out of 75 districts in Uttar Pradesh, 19 out of 33 in Gujarat and 17 out of 51 districts in Madhya Pradesh have received deficient rainfall.The soybean processing industry recently said crops were at risk. India is dependent on imports for oilseeds. It had to import 400,000 tonnes of urad in 2019-20 to bridge the gap in domestic production and demand.Total rainfall for the season remains above normal, but its distribution is a concern, said Rahul Chauhan, director, IGrain India, a commodity research company. "An outbreak of high temperature and heavy heat is also reported which has threatened the progress of kharif crops. There is sporadic rain at some places but it is not benefiting much In some other areas of Madhya Pradesh including Malwa-Nimar, the dry hot weather is adversely affecting the progress of crops," he said.