Bhubaneswar, Oct 15 (IANS): The southwest monsoon has started retreating from most of the districts of Odisha, an official said here Monday.

It has withdrawn from 17 of the state's 30 districts, including Sambalpur, Sundergarh, Bolangir and Subarnapur. The withdrawal line passes through the districts of Keonjhar and Koraput, the official said.

The conditions are favourable for further retreat of monsoon from the remaining parts of the state in the next two-three days, S.C. Sahu, director of the Bhubaneswar meteorological centre, told IANS.

A good monsoon is crucial for the state which has about 73 percent of the workforce engaged in the agriculture sector. Odisha contributes about one-tenth of the country's total rice production, he said.

The monsoon normally reaches the state by June 10. However, this year it was delayed by a week. "The (monsoonal) rains from June 1-Sep 30 were almost normal," Sahu said.

The state received about 1,147 mm of rain against a normal of around 1150 mm during the period, he said.

The withdrawal of monsoon will not have any adverse impact on the rabi crop (sown in winter and harvested in the summer season) as Odhisha received rains during the first fortnight of this month, he said.