El Nino Threatening Monsoon in India to Curb Crop Outlook
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Monsoon rainfall in India, the main source of irrigation for the nation’s 263 million farmers, will be below normal this year as El Nino emerges, weakening prospects for crops from rice to soybeans and sugar and potentially boosting inflation.
Showers in the June-September season will be 93 percent of a 50-year average of 89 centimeters (35 inches), the state-run India Meteorological Department said on its website yesterday. That’s less than 95 percent of the average predicted in April. Rainfall in July, the wettest month of the monsoon season, may be 93 percent of the average and August may total 96 percent, the forecaster said.