Indian farmers have planted monsoon crops such as rice, cotton and soybeans on 61.19 million hectares (151 million acres) of land as of July 16, a decline of 12% from a year earlier, according to the farm ministry.

Area under sugarcane has risen almost 1.7% to 5.37 million hectares so far this year, while cotton has been planted in 9.84 million hectares, down 13% from a year earlier, the ministry said late Friday.

India’s June-September monsoon rains were 7% below average in the week ended July 14, according to the India Meteorological Department.

Sowing of monsoon-sown crops normally begins in late May and peaks in July while harvesting starts in late September.

Following is a table showing area covered under major crops.

Crops	Acreage 2021 (million hectares)	Acreage 2020 (million hectares)	% Change
Rice	16.2	17.44	-7.1%
Pulses	7.06	8.04	-12.1%
Corn	5.89	6.38	-7.7%
Total coarse cereals	9.13	11.51	-20.6%
Soybeans	9.32	10.58	-11.9%
Groundnut	3.03	3.73	-18.6%
Total oilseeds	12.89	14.94	-13.7%
Sugar cane	5.37	5.28	+1.7%
Cotton	9.84	11.3	-12.9%
Total	61.19	69.19	-11.56%