MUMBAI, June 8 Reuters Monsoon rain reached the coast of India39;s southernmost Kerala state on Thursday, offering relief to farmers after a delay of more than a week, marking its latest arrival in seven years.

The monsoon, the lifeblood of India39;s 3 trillion economy, delivers nearly 70 of the rain needed to water its farms and recharge reservoirs and aquifers. It also brings relief from the worst of the hot weather.

In the absence of irrigation systems, nearly half of India39;s farmland depends on the JuneSeptember rains and their late arrival could delay the planting of rice, cotton, corn, soybean and sugar cane, traders said.

Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala today, the 8th June, 2023, against the normal date of 1st June, the staterun India Meteorological Department IMD said in a statement.

This year, the IMD had expected the rains to arrive over the state39;s coast on June 4 but the formation of severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy in the Arabian Sea delayed their onset.

The IMD confirms the monsoon has begun after taking into account rainfall measured at weather stations in the southern state of Kerala and westerly wind speeds.

Conditions are favourable for the monsoon to advance into the central Arabian Sea and some parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states, the IMD said.

India received 57 lower rainfall than average in the first week of June, weather office data showed on Wednesday, reflecting the delayed arrival of the wet weather.

The monsoon…