India's Kharif sowing affected by weather conditions
Kharif crop planting has hit a slowdown, with 160 lakh hectares sown this week—down from 180 lakh last week.
The main reason? Rain has been uneven: too little in the east, northeast, and south, but heavy in central and northwest India.
Still, total sowing is up 7% over last year at nearly 598 lakh hectares.
Monsoon has been patchy this year
Monsoon rains have been all over the place—much higher than normal overall, but some regions are way behind while others got soaked.
This patchiness means some farmers are struggling to plant on time, which could potentially affect food prices and availability down the line.
Rice, pulses up; cotton, oilseeds down
Rice (paddy) planting is up by 11%, and pulses jumped by nearly 26%.
But oilseeds dropped a bit overall because soybeans fell even as groundnut surged.
Cotton acreage also slipped slightly.
Officials say September rains will be crucial—too much flooding then could hurt pulses and oilseeds just before harvest.