Rain Deficit Narrows, Aiding India’s Withering Crops

India’s monsoon rainfall, the main source of irrigation for the nation’s 235 million farmers, was above average in most parts of the country, helping crops of rice, sugar cane and soybeans reeling from moisture stress.

Excess rain over central, southern and northeastern regions the past week narrowed the deficit in the week ended Aug. 26 to 5 percent, said S. Kaur, director at the India Meteorological Department. Showers since June 1 were 25 percent below the long- period average, compared with 26 percent a week ago, she said.

“Rainfall was excess in most parts of the country, barring the northwestern region,” said Kaur.

The monsoon season, which brings about three-quarters of the nation’s annual rainfall, may be the driest in seven years, with 252 of the 626 districts declaring drought. India’s summer crop harvest will decline by a fifth, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said today. The country may import food items such as edible oils and lentils to meet any deficit, he said last week.

Falls in the drought-struck northwest states, the nation’s food bowl, were 74 percent less than average in the week ended Aug. 26. The seasonal shortfall widened to 40 percent from 37 percent a week earlier, Kaur said. The region includes Uttar Pradesh, India’s top sugar cane grower, Punjab and Haryana, the top rice and wheat growers.

Inadequate rainfall in July 2008 cut cane yields, lowered production by half and turned India into a net importer for the first time in three years. Production may drop to 14.8 million tons in the year to Sept. 30, from 26.4 million tons.

Sugar reached a 28-year high of 23.33 cents a pound in New York on Aug. 12.

Rice Harvest

India’s monsoon-sown rice output will drop 10 million tons from last year’s record, the government has said. Rice was sown to 27.3 million hectares, compared with 34.14 million hectares a year earlier, the farm ministry said Aug. 25.

Rainfall totaled 514.3 millimeters in the June 1-Aug. 26 period, less than the long-period average of 682 millimeters, the weather bureau’s Kaur said. Showers were 52 millimeters in the week ended Aug. 26, less than the average 54.6 millimeters between 1941 and 1990.

The deficit in the northeast states narrowed to 25 percent from 27 percent on Aug. 19. The shortfall in the central states, including Madhya Pradesh, the biggest soybean producer, narrowed to 20 percent from 22 percent, and a revival in the monsoon over peninsular India narrowed the deficit to 14 percent from 20 percent a week earlier, Kaur said.