Sanjeeb Mukherjee
The southwest monsoon has taken a pause after making a strong entry into the mainland, resulting in an almost 25 per cent deficiency during the first week of the 2025 season.
According to the latest data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), rainfall between June 1 and June 8 was recorded at 20.4 millimetres, while the normal level for this period is around 27.2 millimetres.
The monsoon has stalled over parts of Maharashtra and North Bengal since around May 29. But the IMD has said the monsoon is likely to enter an active phase over South Peninsular India, with heavy to very heavy rainfall and isolated extremely heavy falls over Karnataka between June 12 and 15, and over Konkan and Goa between June 13 and 15.
Meanwhile, Barclays, in a report, said the spatial and timely distribution of rainfall will be crucial this season to keep inflation in key kharif crops (rice, pulses, and oilseeds) under control.
As of May 29, water storage in key reservoirs stood at 30 per cent of total capacity, higher than the 10-year average of 25 per cent for this time of year (last year it was 23 per cent).
The higher reservoir levels reflect the above-normal monsoon in 2024, which supported rabi crop output and resulted in record-high wheat production.
However, Barclays also said excess rainfall in May might have negatively impacted vegetable crops.
Heavy rains in the onion belt of Maharashtra during the last week of May caused a significant crop damage, which is already visible in rising wholesale mandi prices, which have increased by 13.6 per cent month-on-month. Tomato prices have risen by 5 per cent for tomatoes in the past couple of weeks.
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