Delay in monsoon has affected the sowing operations of various crops during the kharif season, reducing the acreage of these commodities this year.

According to Met office, for the pre-monsoon period from March 1- May 31, rainfall was the lowest in three years at 112.8 mm against 133.6 mm last year. Among the 36 meteorological sub-divisions, 20 received scanty or deficient rainfall. The deficiency was more prominent in central and southern parts of the country.

On the other hand, though monsoon arrived early on May 24, its progress has since then been tardy. According to the India Meteorological Department, monsoon up to June 7 was 39 per cent deficient with rainfall being lower by 68 per cent in north-western parts, 48 per cent in north-eastern parts and 41 per cent in central parts of the country.

The lower pre-monsoon and monsoon showers had an impact on the storage levels in major reservoirs. The full reservoir level in 76 major reservoirs was only 24 per cent of the total 133.03 billion cubic metres. This was only 97 per cent of the level compared with the same period last year.

One cause for concern during the current kharif season could be availability of fertiliser. The requirement this month for urea is 24.36 lakh tonnes, while 8.48 lakh tonnes of di-ammonium phosphate and 301,000 tonnes of muriate of potash (MOP) are also needed.