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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Economy may bottom out on improving monsoon in the current quarter- Vinay Pandey

Economy may bottom out on improving monsoon in the current quarter- Vinay Pandey

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published Published on Aug 22, 2012   modified Modified on Aug 22, 2012
-The Economic Times

The worst of drought may be behind after the near normal rains since fourth week of July, raising hopes that the economy could bottom out in the current quarter and even get a big push from a likely good Rabi harvest.

The deficit in the weekly rainfall in the three weeks to August 15, the crucial sowing period in north India, has been less than 4%, almost normal rainfall.

The full reservoirs provide cushion against a possible shortfall in rains in September as the dreaded El Nino strengthens.

"The worst of drought is clearly behind us, though residual impact could last up to the third quarter of the current fiscal," says Abheek Barua, chief economist HDFC Bank. The farm sector, which has a 14% weight in the economy, has in the last couple of years provided good consumption support to economy, making up partly for the deficiency in investments.

There were concerns that the a bad drought will undermine this significant driver of the economy, but the improving rains will provide some respite to the country battling growth downgrades and threat of a credit rating cut to junk status.

"We will have to wait for the September rains to get a clearer picture, but the horror scenario is clearly off," said eminent agriculture economist and former Union minister Y K Alagh.

Rating agency Crisil, which has pegged GDP growth at 5.5% in the current year, a good percentage point below the 6.5% growth in the last fiscal, does not see any further downside because of monsoons.

"Unless El Nino completely messes up, there will not be any more downside for the economy from the rains," said DK Joshi, chief economist Crisil.

In fact, there may be a small upside to the rating agency's zero percent farm sector growth estimate if September rains are also decent.

The latest crop sowing data shows excess or normal area under rice, cotton, sugarcane, and oil seeds. The only deficiency is in the case of pulses and coarse cereals, indicating that stress is not as severe as believed initially.

In the case of rice, going by the sowing pattern as on August 17, the country could actually have a record crop this year.

However, the early moisture deficiency may take a toll on the yields even if crop damage is not extensive.

Barclays economists Rahul Bajoria and Siddhartha Sanyal have noted the improvement in monsoon in a note put out last week, but did not try and guess its impact.

"At this point, it is unclear whether this improvement will have a significant impact on the agriculture sector," they wrote in the note. Agriculture experts appear more upbeat about the prospects of the sector, especially the winter crop. The residual moisture could also provide a good winter (crop), helping prop up the overall farm sector growth numbers for the year.

"August rains have helped full reservoirs and charge ground water," says Alagh but adds that more than monsoon it is what finance minister P Chidambaram does that is going to be more crucial for the economy.

Agriculture, after all, has only a small weight in the economy, he says. 

The Economic Times, 22 August, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/economy-may-bottom-out-on-improving-monsoon-in-the-current-quarter/articleshow/15594723.cms


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