Monsoon delay by 10-15 days not to impact farm output: Sen

Country's chief statistician Pronab Sen today said 10-15 days delay in monsoon will not have any major impact on farm production.     

However, he added, "delay (in monsoon) beyond one month, could adversely impact wheat production, though prices may not rise as the government has sufficient wheat stocks."     

Failure of monsoon, Sen told reporters on the sidelines of a function to observe the Statistics Day, would have serious consequences for the economy.     

"We will have serious issue on both inflation and growth" in the event of failure of monsoon, he said.     

However, Sen added that delayed monsoon could have positive implications with regard to availability of certain crops.     

"The farmers will switch to shorter-duration crops increasing the availability of commodities like oil and pulses," he added.     

Meanwhile, PM's Economic Advisory Council Chairman Suresh Tendulkar today said it is too early to press the panic button, when asked about the impact of delayed monsoon on agriculture and the economy.      

Rainfall, according to official estimates, is likely to be only 93 per cent of the long-period average.