India saw above-average rains last week, data from the weather office showed on Thursday, spurring hopes that rice yields may get a boost from the heavy downpour at the tail end of the four-month monsoon season.
Rainfall was 18 per cent above average in the week ended September 25, compared with a 25 per cent shortage a week ago, according to the data.
India's grains production this summer is likely to be near an all-time high after plentiful rains, the government has said, helping to tame high food prices and boost farm sector growth in the world's second-most populous country.
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Last week's rains as the June-to-September season draws to a close should help rice beat the government's forecast for a marginal year-on-year drop in output to 92.3 million tonnes.
The monsoon, which is vital for the 55 per cent of India's farmland that does not have irrigation, started the four-month season with very heavy rains, ensuring that the lower-than-average rainfall later on was not a major problem.
This year, the rains started their retreat about a week earlier than usual on September 9.
Copyright @ Thomson Reuters 2013
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