Monsoon eases after initial heavy downpours

By Ratnajyoti Dutta

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's monsoon rains could ease next week over the main crop areas after heavy downpours in the first month of the June-September season, weather officials said, speeding up planting of summer crops.

Rains were 4 percent above average in the week that ended on July 3, data from the weather office showed on Thursday, reflecting a slowdown from torrential downpours early in the season that had caused fatal floods in many parts, mainly in northern India.

In the first five weeks of the monsoon season, rains had been 27 percent above average as this year's monsoon covered the whole country in record time, almost a month ahead of schedule.

An average monsoon means higher rural income in the farm dependent world's second most populous country, improving sales of everything from cars and gold to refrigerators.

Weather officials said the rains could ease in southern and western parts of the country next week, allowing farmers to speed up planting of rice, cereals, pulses and cotton.

"Sowing of summer crops including rice, soybean and pulses is progressing smoothly due to well distributed monsoon," said J.S. Sandhu, the country's farm commissioner.

He said heavy rains led to early sowing of almost all summer crops except cane as southern and western India continued to recover from last year's drought.

Rainfall was 32 percent above average in June, the best start of the four-month long rainy season since 2001, as this year's monsoon drenched the whole country in the record time.

Flash floods and landslides unleashed by the early monsoon have killed hundreds in the north and left thousands missing.

But the area is not key for crops and the sugar cane in the nearby area including the biggest producing state of Uttar Pradesh was also spared as floods subsided swiftly enough to shift any stagnant water that could have caused damage.

In general, above average early rains help moisten the soil, enabling better preparation for seeds and early planting. The June to September monsoon is crucial for the 55 percent of India's farmland without irrigation.

Rains eased in the past week in almost all major crop growing regions, except soybean and cane growing areas of central and northern India.

"Good rains in soybean growing areas have brought the sowing operations in the last lag," said Rajesh Agrawal, chief coordinator at the central city Indore-based Soybean Processors Association of India.

Soybeans are the most important oilseed crop for India, the world's biggest vegetable oil importer, and also the leading soymeal supplier in Asia. (Additional reporting by Annie Banerji; editing by Nidhi Verma and David Evans)