INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Monsoon rains, which turned patchy at the tail-end of June, will pick up later this weekFarmers have planted 49.9 million hectares (123
monsoon rains taper off after a strong start last month.Farmers typically start planting summer-sown crops on June 1, when monsoon rains
Planting then continues until early August.Planting of rice, the key summer crop, was at 11.5 million hectares as of July 9 versus 12.6
million hectares in the previous year, the ministry said
The area planted with cotton was at 8.6 million hectares versus 10.5 million hectares the prior year.Planting of overall oilseeds, including
soybean - the main summer oilseed crop - was at 11.2 million hectares, down from 12.6 million hectares the previous year.Soybean sowing was
at 8.2 million hectares against 9.2 million hectares last year
India is the world's biggest buyer of cooking oils.Sugarcane sowing in the world's second biggest sugar producer was almost unchanged at
5.3 million hectares.Farmers planted protein-rich pulse on 5.2 million hectares against 5.3 million hectares in the previous year
The figures are provisional and subject to revision as the June-September monsoon season progresses.India, one of the world's top
of June, will pick up later this week, India's top weather official told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.Nearly half of India's
farmland has no irrigation and is dependent on monsoon rains that account for 70%-90% of annual rainfall
