Heavy rain to inundate India’s top cotton and peanut growing region

India’s biggest cotton and peanut growing areas are forecast to continue witnessing heavy rains and strong winds this week, raising the risk of floods and threatening the crops that are just weeks away from harvesting. Saurashtra and Kachchh regions of the western state of Gujarat will receive heavy precipitation for three days through Saturday, according to the India Meteorological Department. A deep depression in the coastal parts may intensify into a cyclone on Friday, causing the wind speed to surge to as high as 85 kilometers (53 miles) per hour, it said in a bulletin Thursday. Any severe damage to cotton plants could put pressure on the South Asian nation to increase overseas purchases, potentially underpinning global prices of cotton that have slumped almost 15% this year. A likely drop in production of peanuts could tighten supplies of the commodity in the country that imports about 60% of its vegetable oil needs. Some parts of the state have already been facing flash ...