“Indian monsoon got off to a pretty good start across much of southern India. But, we see a change in the situation, we are going to see mostly dry weather over the next 10 days,” said Kyle Tapley, senior agricultural meteorologist at Radiant Solutions, formerly MDA Earthsat.
India’s monsoons, which hit the southern coast late last month, are expected to make slow progress over the next two weeks and delay the onset of crucial rains over north-western parts of the country, a private U.S.-based weather forecaster said. Monsoon rains, vital for Asia’s third largest economy, hit Kerala at the end of May, a few days earlier than normal, brightening the outlook for agricultural and economic output.
The Monsoon delivers about 70 percent of India’s annual rainfall and are the lifeblood of its $2.5 trillion economy, spurring farm output and boosting spending on items ranging from gold to tractors and refrigerators.
For the entire four-month monsoon season, rains are expected to be marginally below normal, he said by phone from the company’s headquarters in Washington.
Australia’s eastern grain belt is expected to remain dry during coming weeks, hitting wheat production in the world’s fourth largest exporter.
“The southern and western wheat growing areas in Australia have seen some improvement, but it is quite dry in Queensland and New South Wales,” Tapley said.
The forecast for Australia’s wheat production has been cut by nearly 8 percent for 2018/19, the country’s top commodity agency reported on Wednesday, as prolonged dryness across the east coast crimps national output.