India's 2010 Monsoon To Arrive On May 30: Government

Mayank Bhardwaj, PlanetArk 17 May 10;

Monsoon rains, critical to farm output in India's trillion-dollar economy, will arrive on May 30, two days before normal, India's Earth Sciences Minister Prithviraj Chavan said on Friday.

India's weather office has already forecast a normal June-September monsoon this year after the 2009 season saw the worst drought in nearly four decades.

The forecast will be updated next month.

A statement from the India Meteorology Department said monsoon clouds would appear over the Andaman Sea next week and move to the mainland ahead of the normal onset date of June 1.

"The model suggests the date of onset of south-west monsoon over Kerala is likely to be on May 30, with a model error of four days," the statement said.

Weak rainfall last year led to a sustained rise in food prices in India, while New York Raw sugar futures soared to a 29-year high because of a big deficit in India, the world's biggest consumer.

Monsoon rains are also vital for the soybean crop in India, the world's biggest importer of edible oils.

Last year's drought raised India's edible oil import needs, helping it overtake China to become the world's biggest buyer.

In April, a weather scientist said that based on prevailing conditions, monsoon rains were likely to hit India's southern coast a week early.

A good monsoon forecast and its timely arrival will boost India's food output and calm soaring headline inflation, which stood at 9.59 percent in April, easing from 9.9 percent in the previous month and 10 percent in February.

India's Farm Minister Sharad Pawar said on Thursday that the government would closely watch monsoon rains before easing export curbs on grains, which were imposed when prices were rising.

(Editing by Malini Menon)