Monsoon recovery enhances sowing of kharif crops

The timely and sufficient progress of the southwest monsoon has boosted the sowing of onions and other horticultural crops like tomatoes and potatoes for the kharif season. Heavy rain in the first week of July has compensated for the June rain-deficit across the country.

Heavy rainfall in July has offset the June deficit, bringing India’s overall monsoon precipitation into surplus. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts continued heavy rain in northwest and western peninsular India over the next few days, and in the northeast for the next five days.

India, the world’s leading producer of critical crops such as rice, wheat, and sugarcane, faced an 11% rainfall deficit in June, with northwest India recording a 33% shortfall. 

However, the heavy rains in July have closed the deficit in the northeast and reduced central India’s deficit from 14% to 6%. To date, India has received 214.9 mm of rainfall, slightly above the normal of 213.3 mm. Currently, 23% of the country has experienced excess rainfall, 67% normal rainfall, and 10% deficient rainfall.

The government noted that the timely and sufficient progress of the southwest monsoon has boosted the sowing of onions and other horticultural crops like tomatoes and potatoes for the kharif season. The targeted area for kharif sowing of these major vegetables is significantly higher than last year. The target for kharif onion is set at 0.36 million hectares (MH), a 27% increase from 2023, with 61,700 hectares already sown in states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh.

Kharif crops, which account for 30% of annual onion production, are crucial for maintaining price stability between rabi and peak kharif arrivals. The rabi onion output is estimated at 19.1 million tonnes (MT), sufficient to meet domestic consumption until the kharif harvest begins in October. Despite this, retail onion prices have risen due to a lower rabi harvest, with inflation in May at 38% year-on-year.

Potato and tomato sowing targets have also increased, with the kharif potato area targeted to rise by 12% and the kharif tomato area projected at 0.27 MH. The rabi potato harvest of 27.32 MT in cold storage is enough to meet demand. Overall, monsoon rains are 1.8% below the long-period average, but surplus rainfall in the southern peninsula has boosted several kharif crops.