India to see above-average July rains after wetter than normal June: IMD

The monsoon is the lifeblood of India's nearly $4 trillion economy, delivering almost 70% of the rainfall needed to water farms and replenishing aquifers and reservoirs

India is likely to get above-average monsoon rainfall, critical to the economy, in July after receiving 9 per cent above-normal rains in June, a senior weather department official said on Monday. 

The monsoon is the lifeblood of India's nearly $4 trillion economy, delivering almost 70 per cent of the rainfall needed to water farms and replenishing aquifers and reservoirs. 

Nearly half of India's farmland is not irrigated and depends on the annual June-September rains for crop growth. 

All regions, except northeastern states and the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, are likely to receive rainfall equating to more than 106 per cent of the 50-year average in July, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told a virtual news conference. 

Soybean and cotton-growing states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh are likely to receive above-average rainfall, as are rice-growing northern and most eastern states, according to Mohapatra. 

India received 9 per cent more rainfall than the long-period average for June, as the monsoon covered the entire country nine days ahead of its normal schedule. 

Farmers usually start planting summer-sown crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans and sugarcane after the arrival of monsoon rains. 

The early arrival of monsoon and above-average rainfall has accelerated planting of summer-sown crops, farm ministry data showed on Monday. Farmers had planted 26.2 million hectares with summer-sown crops by Monday, up 11.3 per cent on the same period last year. 

Rice was planted on 3.5 million hectares, larger than last year's 2.4 million hectares. Farmers had planted another 4.9 million hectares with oilseeds, including soybeans, up from 4 million hectares a year ago. 

Planting will gain further momentum in the coming weeks as recent rainfall has improved soil moisture levels, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house. 

"July rainfall is very crucial for summer crops. We can expect good yields if the monsoon delivers surplus rainfall in July," the dealer said.