Monsoon may revive around June 20 : IMD

India’s southwest monsoon, which runs from June to September, may revive about June 20, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said today.

The monsoon stalled on June 7 after reaching parts of the southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and the eastern state of West Bengal, the weather office reiterated on its Web site. Rains should have reached western Gujarat state, the central states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and the eastern state of Bihar by now, it said.

Timely showers help increase yields of crops including rice, corn, soybeans and sugar cane that are planted after the onset of the rainy season on June 1. Lower sugar cane production this year turned the South Asian nation into a net importer of the sweetener for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

The monsoon’s progress was hampered by tropical cyclone Aila, which lashed the country’s coast on May 25. Madhya Pradesh is the biggest producer of soybeans while Andhra Pradesh is the second-biggest producer of rice and peanuts in the country.