NEW DELHI (Commodity Online): India’s monsoon clouds are seen mounting over country’s major grain growing regions and fairly widespread rainfall is expected in the North West region during the next five days, said India Meteorological Department it web site.

Madhya Pradesh, a major oilseed and pulses growing state in central India, is also likely to get rains at many places with isolated heavy showers during the next 48 hours.

India’s annual monsoon rains during the June 1-Sept. 5 period were 21% below the 50-year average, improving two percentage points from the June 1-Sept. 2 period.

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The four-month monsoon season is crucial for summer-sown crops, including cotton, rice, pulses and oilseeds, as about 60% of the farms are rain-fed.