New Delhi: India's monsoon rainfall deficit has widened to 15 per cent of the long-period average, while strengthening El Nino conditions pose an elevated risk to rainfall in the coming days, ICICI Bank Research said in its latest agriculture report.
The report, however, said the impact on kharif crops has been partly contained as sowing is largely complete and surplus rainfall in July provided some cushion. "With sowing of kharif crops largely over, impact of below normal monsoon has been mitigated to some extent because of surplus rainfall recorded in July," it said.
