Early Monsoon in India, a Blessing in Disguise for Agriculture

The chief economist for Asia said “Rains and the rupee will determine whether RBI will move at its policy review but rates should slowly fall by up to 100 basis points over the next year or so,” said Richard Iley, as reported by Bloomberg News.

Soybean crop which is the main oilseed sown in the monsoon season have started being sown in Madhya Pradesh. This state contributes more than 50 percent of the country’s crop.

Northwest India which is the main region for the production of wheat, rice and sugar cane may get 94 percent of average rainfall this year whereas in the central India which is the largest soybean producer of the country will witness a 98 percent of the average rainfall.

The early monsoon showers have boosted the agricultural production where rice has been sowed in 1.96 million acres (794,000 hectares), oilseeds in 157,000 hectares, Sugar cane in 4.21 million hectares and cotton in 1.58 million hectares.

Though the rain seems to be destructive in many parts of Northern India, it seems to be a boon for agriculture that has seen months of drought in the past year.