New Delhi, Sep 5 — As cumulative rainfall remains below normal and the monsoon enters its final phase, the spatial distribution of rainfall will be critical for final kharif acreage and could have implications for food inflation in the near term, a report said on Saturday.
Cumulative southwest monsoon rainfall from June 1 to September 4 stood at 629.7 millimetres, 13 per cent below the long‑period average and has resultantly reduced kharif sowing area, the report from Bank of Baroda said.
On the positive side, acreage of pulses has improved with higher sowing for both tur (1.6 per cent) and urad (12 per cent), it said.
Additionally, higher acreage has also been noted for jute and mesta up by 1.7 per cent for the same period.
The rainfall was below last year’s 791.8 millimetres for the same period, according to the report. Also, 49 per cent of the country received normal to excess rainfall, while 16 states remained in the deficient zone.
Regionally, the Southern Peninsula reported a deficit of 26 per cent, East and North Eastern India were down 24 per cent, while North Western India was 9 per cent below normal and the central region was 5 per cent below normal rainfall.
"Moderate El Nino conditions are currently prevailing as per the IMD and are projected to strengthen in the remaining period of the season," the report noted.
Acreage of rice, oilseeds and coarse cereals registered a decline, while that of pulses and Jute & Mesta has seen an improvement (YoY basis).
Water reservoir level is lower than last year, with the All India reservoir at 70 per cent of the total storage capacity versus 86 per cent last year during the same period.
The report also noted lower sown area for oilseeds, with slower growth noted in soybean and groundnut. Cotton and sugarcane sowing has also been lower for the same period.