{
  "id": 14724235,
  "title": "El Nino Hits The Production Of The 2026-27 Kharif Crop",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/el-nino-hits-the-production-of-the-2026-27-kharif-crop",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-15T14:47:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/el-nino-hits-the-production-of-the-2026-27-kharif-crop"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The four-month southwest monsoon season in India has concluded its withdrawal phase, arriving late in June and stagnating for nearly three weeks in early July. By the end of September, the country faced a rainfall deficit of 15%, with uneven distribution across its 36 meteorological subdivisions. Major agricultural regions such as Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat (Saurashtra and Kutch), Maharashtra (Marathwada), Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Assam, as well as the Northeast, experienced varying degrees of moisture stress. This El Niño-induced dry spell has severely impacted Kharif crops like rice, pulses, cotton, soybean, groundnut, and sugarcane, resulting in lower planted areas, yields, and production compared to the previous Kharif season.\n\nThe government's estimated production for Kharif 2025 is below the forecast production for 2026, and the current Kharif season's production is projected to fall short of the season's target. This shortfall, coupled with high international energy costs and a weak rupee, may lead to increased imports of pulses (7.5 million tonnes), vegetable oils (16-17 million tonnes), and cotton (more than 7 million bales). The government may tighten restrictions on agricultural trade to address the supply-demand imbalance. Furthermore, El Niño may exacerbate the situation for Rabi crops in October-November-December, as adequate winter rainfall is essential for crops like wheat, rice, maize, oilseeds, and pulses. Indian wheat is nearing its heat-tolerance limit, and warmer days in January and February, followed by heatwaves in March, could negatively impact the harvest. Reservoir storage levels are insufficient and could reach critical levels in the first quarter of 2027. The government can explore policy options such as reducing basic customs duties on palm, soybean, and sunflower oils and considering further duty reductions for imports of refined oils. For pulses, a liberal import policy remains in place until March 2027, which could be extended. Some restrictions on diverting rice, maize, and sugarcane for ethanol production may also be reconsidered.",
  "summary": "The four-month southwest monsoon season (June to September 2026) in India has entered its withdrawal phase. In June, the monsoon arrived four days late and subsequently stalled for almost three weeks. Early July rains revived hopes, but precipitation in August and September was less than satisfactory. As a result, by the end of September, the country faced a rainfall deficit of 15%. The temporal…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}