Monsoon 29 percent below average in past week

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's monsoon rains were just short of a third below average in the week ending August 28, data from the weather office showed on Thursday, a respite from the previous week's downpours that raised concerns of damage to crops such as soybean and cotton.

Rainfall was 29 percent below average compared with 26 percent above the previous week. Such dramatic swings between weeks are not uncommon as the season enters its last phase and this year, low rainfall now is not a concern as there have been ample rains so far.

Once summer crops are planted, they must avoid heavy showers during their growing phase but need intermittent rains to ensure healthy growth.

The monsoon, vital for 55 percent of Indian farmland that does not have irrigation, was the heaviest in nearly two decades during the first half of the season with the fastest ever coverage of the country - almost a month ahead of schedule.

Those ample rains raised prospects for bumper harvests and higher rural incomes in the world's second most populous country, which could improve retail sales and help rural growth.

But heavy rains in the last couple of weeks over areas that grow soybean in central India and cotton in western India had raised concerns of damage to crops.

India, one of the world's biggest producers and consumers of farm commodities, is heavily reliant on the annual monsoon for its huge harvests of rice, sugar and cash crops like cotton.

Most of the summer planted crops, except rice in some pockets of eastern parts, have already entered their growing stage and now need moderate rains to ensure better yields.

(Reporting by Ratnajyoti Dutta; Editing by Jo Winterbottom)