By Himangshu Watts
NEW DELHI - Heavy showers, particularly in soybean-growing regions in the past week have rapidly cut the shortfall in monsoon rains, raising hopes of strong harvests in the world's leading consumer of rice, vegetable oils and sugar.
Total rainfall since June 1, the start of the vital, four-month monsoon season was 16 percent below normal on July 19, but the seasonal deficit narrowed to 7 percent on Monday, data from the India Meteorology Department showed.
Vigorous monsoon rains will help calm soaring inflation, which has been in double digits for five consecutive months, and has been rising after last year's monsoon delivered the weakest rainfall in nearly four decades.
India's top opposition have sought a special discussion and vote in parliament over high prices this week, attacking the government on an issue that has emerged as a major policy challenge.
This year, monsoons began shakily, falling 16 percent short of normal in June, delaying crop sowing, but the recent revival is expected to boost crops.
Farmers have already planted rice, oilseeds, cane and cotton in a larger area than last year, and are expected to further expand cultivation as the monsoon progresses.
In the soybean-growing central India, the shortfall in monsoon rains since June 1 narrowed to 4 percent on Monday from 18 percent on July 19 as the region received about three times the normal rainfall in the past three days.
SOYBEAN GAINS
"Soybean crop is in healthy condition as there have been good showers in last two days," A.S. Chandel, a soybean expert from central city Indore, told Reuters.
He said recent rainfall had helped farmers complete sowing of oilseeds in areas which were earlier relatively dry.
The weather office has forecast widespread rainfall along India's west coast and soybean-growing central regions this week.
In the first week of August, rainfall is likely to decrease in the central regions but areas near the foothills of the Himalayas may receive more rain, the weather office said in its two-week forecast.
India's farm output, which suffered last year because of the drought, is expected to rise if rainfall is close to normal as forecast by the weather office.
Increase in rainfall is expected to boost water level in India's main reservoirs, which are important for irrigation and power generation.
Official data showed on Friday the reservoirs were filled to 19 percent of their capacity, up from 17 percent a week ago, but well below the normal level of 29 percent at this time of the year.
(Additional reporting by Ratnajyoti Dutta; editing by James Jukwey).