Monsoon rains arrive in Kerala: Weather official

The annual monsoon rains have arrived at Kerala's coast on Tuesday, a top weather official said, brightening the prospects of higher farm output as farmers can plant summer-sown crops such as rice, soybean and cotton on time.

"It's been raining in Kerala for the past few days, but the parameters suggest that the monsoon has arrived today," BP Yadav, a director at the state-run India Meteorological Department told Reuters.

The annual rains are crucial for farm output and economic growth as about 55% of the south Asian nation's arable land is rain-fed, and farm sector accounts for about 15% of a nearly USD 2-trillion economy, Asia's third-biggest.

India is the world's second-biggest producer of rice, wheat, sugar and cotton and also one of the largest consumers, with a population of about 1.2 billion.