Slow monsoon threatens India crops Commodities traders are on high alert as lower than normal levels of rain from India's annual monsoon raise concerns about agricultural crops ranging from sugar to rice and cotton. As a leading consumer and producer of agricultural commodities, India's output swings - which push the country back and forth from exporter to importer - can dramatically affect global prices. The annual monsoon, which starts in June at the country's southern tip, is crucial for the planting and growth of India's crops. But this year it has advanced northward at a slower pace than usual, and total precipitation nationally has been 22 per cent below the long-term average, with some states facing deficits of 30 to 60 per cent. Worries about the monsoon have partly been behind a rebound in the price of raw sugar from a 22-month low of 18.86 cents a pound in early June. India is the largest consumer and second largest producer of sugar, and traders are fretting about a likely drop in cane output in Maharashtra and Karnataka, already suffering from a year-long water shortage. "The drought has already stunted the growth of the cane in these areas," said Jonathan Kingsman, founder of the Switzerland-based sugar consultancy. With sugarcane smaller and thinner than normal, some farmers are now using some of their crop for animal fodder. "The farmer will irrigate some part with whatever water he has, and the part he cannot irrigate, he will cut and feed to cattle," said P. Soman, chief agronomist of Jain Irrigation, a Maharashtra-based drip irrigation company. The farming states facing the steepest rainfall deficits are Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, which between them are major producers of sugarcane, cotton, rice and fruit. The monsoon season lasts until the end of September, and precipitation levels could yet pick up. However, some forecasters are worried about the El Niño weather phenomenon, which could lower Indian rainfall levels in the coming months. Indian crops grown on non-irrigated land - mainly oilseeds, pulses, coarse cereals, and corn - are likely to be hardest hit. The weather disruption comes at a time when grain and oilseed crops in the US are threatened by the worst drought in half a century. Any damage to India's soyabean crop could force it to import palm oil for its substantial vegetable oil needs. US cotton traders have started to focus on the weather situation on the subcontinent, where the crop has been under severe stress, sending domestic cotton and yarn prices spiralling. India is the world's second largest cotton producer, but consumes most of what it produces. The poor monsoon may also hit rice production, but since large quantities of paddy are cultivated in Punjab and Haryana - states that have extensive irrigation systems - experts say output is unlikely to fall too sharply. India is the world's second largest rice producer and a leading exporter, but stocks remain high thanks to last year's bumper crop.