Rainfall momentum slows in August as India nears Kharif sowing completion

India has achieved 90.8 percent of the normal sown area for Kharif crops as of the week ending August 8, up from 87.3 percent during the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. The near-complete coverage comes despite a slowdown in rainfall activity during the first half of August.

Sowing has been buoyed by strong progress in key crops. Rice coverage has reached 90.5 percent of its normal area, compared with 80.7 percent in 2024–25. Coarse cereals have been planted on 98.9 percent of the target area, with maize exceeding its usual coverage at 116.4 percent. Sugarcane planting stands at 109.1 percent. However, pulses, oilseeds, jute and mesta, and cotton remain slightly behind last year’s pace.

The India Meteorological Department’s data shows cumulative rainfall up to August 11 was just 0.31 percent above the 50-year average—a marked deceleration from earlier in the season. In the first 10 days of August, rainfall was nearly 30 percent below normal.

Several states are grappling with sharp deficits, particularly in the Northeast. Meghalaya (-44%), Arunachal Pradesh (-39%), and Assam (-37%) have recorded the steepest shortfalls. Bihar (-25%), Maharashtra (-9%), and Andhra Pradesh (-7%) have also received below-normal rains. In contrast, Jharkhand (+40%), Rajasthan (+55%), and Ladakh (+115%) have seen substantial surpluses.

The uneven rainfall is one factor slowing the pace of pulses and cereals sowing. Rajasthan, one of India’s largest kharif cereals producers and a top-five source of pulses, is particularly sensitive to monsoon variation.

As India enters the final month of the Kharif sowing window, the monsoon’s distribution could shape late-season planting decisions, especially for short-duration crops. “August is the final month where sowing activity continues to progress materially, and from late September onwards, harvesting activity begins in India,” said Rahul Bajoria, head, India and ASEAN Economy Research, BofA Securities.

While the national figures point to near-completion, regional rainfall disparities may ultimately decide the final acreage mix for the 2025–26 season.