UPDATE 1-India's weekly rains 51 pct below normal

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NEW DELHI, June 18 (Reuters) -India's monsoon for the week ended June 17 was 51 percent below normal as the progress of the annual rains, crucial to the farm sector, stalled after an early start, the Meteorological Department said on Thursday.

For the week ended June 17, countrywide monsoon rainfall was 17.3 mm against the normal rains of 35.7 mm, the weather office said on its website: here The weather office divides the country into 36 zones for tracking rainfall. Monsoon rains were normal in four areas and excess in six, while 25 zones recorded deficit to scanty rains.

One zone was still to receive any monsoon rain.

The rainfall during Jun 1-17 was at 39.5 mm, 45 percent below than the normal

"There is no concern yet as an early monsoon onset usually witnesses a weak phase, " said A.K. Singh, deputy director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

But any further delay by about a week may affect sowing operations in the central and western regions, he added.

India's central-western regions are major producers of corn, soybean, cane, cotton and pulses.

"Let's wait for couple of days more to see how the monsoon shapes up," Singh said.

India's June-September annual monsoon rains hit the southern coast on May 23, ahead of normal date of June 1, but then weakened in last week of May and first week of June.

The monsoon has not progressed since June 7. (Reporting by Ratnajyoti Dutta; Editing by William Hardy)