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Govt says drought worst in decade, crops hit

Naveen Thukral in New Delhi

Indian Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh said on Wednesday the drought affecting much of the country was the worst in more than a decade and had hit oilseeds, grain and pulses crops.

"This is the worst and most widespread drought in the last 10-12 years," Singh told reporters after a meeting of ministers from drought-affected states.

But the minister said there would be no shortages because the country had sufficient stocks of grains.

"Consumers will not suffer since we have no shortage of grains and enough foreign exchange to import edible oils."

The monsoon arrived over the southern state of Kerala in early June and moved up to the western parts of the country but its progress in oilseed and rice growing northwestern India has been erratic.

The June-September southwest monsoon rains are vital for agriculture which accounts for 25 per cent of the country's gross domestic product and provides employment to 70 per cent of its one billion people.

Singh said there was little chance of rain in drought-hit areas over the next few days.

"Our belief is crops like coarse cereals, oilseeds and grains have been damaged. Even if the rains come now productivity will suffer," he said.

Worst hit states

The worst affected states include northern Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, western Rajasthan and southern Karnataka as well as Tamil Nadu, he said.

The drought-hit states are examining the extent of crop damage and the possibilities of re-sowing or of growing alternative crops.

"We will decide on the relief package after we get a report on the damage from the concerned states," he said.

Traders say lower oilseed output would spur imports of edible oil by India, the world's largest consumer.

Global oils prices have firmed in recent weeks on fears of lower oilseed crops in some countries, including India due to patchy rains and the United States because of hot weather.

Traders said India's winter oilseeds output could fall by 15 per cent from about 12 million tonnes in the previous season, following the poor rains, mainly in the soybean growing area of Madhya Pradesh and groundnut-growing western Gujarat state.

India is the world's largest importer of edible oils. It buys palm oil mostly from Malaysia and Indonesia and soft oils from South America.

There are no fears of grain shortage in India which is sitting on mountains of wheat and rice.

The country's grain stocks reached 65 million tonnes as on May 31, much higher than required buffer stock levels.

Weather officials said the rains were deficient or scanty in 22 out of 36 meteorological divisions between June 1 and July 17.

Additional reporting by Hari Ramachandran

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