The Hindu Business Line : Prices of pulses zoom; more crop damage feared

The prices of pulses have zoomed to a new high this week but a section of the trade feels there may not be much room for the rates to rise further. Also, the possibility of consumers, hit by higher prices, shifting to alternative sources of nutrition cannot be ruled out.

"Prices are shooting up basically on fears that the kharif pulses crop, mainly gram (chana), black matpe (urad), green gram (moong) and pigeonpea (tur), has been affected by floods in the growing States," trade sources said.

"People are afraid that there could be substantial damage to the black matpe crop in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It is only a perception and there is no data to support it," the sources said.

When contacted, Dr Masood Ali, Director of the Kanpur-based Indian Institute of Pulses Research, said while August witnessed a dry period in most of the States where the pulses are grown, September has been seeing the States flooded. "Both these phenomenon are likely to affect the pulses crop badly," he said.

Flood-hit crops

"The pulses crop cannot tolerate floods particularly," he said, adding the crop in States such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra could be affected.

On Wednesday, gram spot prices were quoted at Rs 2,905 a quintal, while masur was up at Rs 1,931. Pigeonpea ruled at Rs 1,794, yellow peas at Rs 1,506 and black matpe at a record Rs 3,601. In the futures market, gram for September delivery was quoted at Rs 2,868 a quintal on MCX and Rs 2,958 on NCDEX. Masur closed at Rs 1,909 on MCX and Rs 1,987 on NCDEX, while pigeonpea ended at Rs 1,794 on MCX and Rs 1,868 on NCDEX. Black matpe was quoted at Rs 3,478 and Rs 3,520 on MCX and NCDEX respectively.

Prices hit the roof

"Prices are going through the roof. We are not sure where they are heading. But the fact is that no ready stocks are available in the country. We are told gram crop is in trouble," said trade sources.

Mr K.C. Bhartiya, President of The Pulses Importers Association, said: "The market seems to move mainly on rumours and fears. Prices may not rise further as demand could be hit. Consumers could avoid eating gram and black matpe. Pigeonpea and green gram prices seem to be reasonable and people could shift to it," he said.

Piecemeal imports

"The problem is that while stocks are low, imports are being done in a piecemeal fashion," trade sources said.

According to trade sources, black matpe of fair average quality (FAQ) was quoted at $670 a tonne c&f Chennai, while superior quality was ruling at around $800 a tonne. "Agencies such as the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation are importing the FAQ variety, which may not be preferred by consumers as they are small in size," said the sources.

"Only Myanmar seems to have stocks but they are quoting very high prices seeing demand from India," the sources said. "Imports are coming but exporters have to foot an additional 30 per cent as capital. For instance, if they had to shell out Rs 30 lakh for 100 tonnes of pulses a few days ago, now they need to fork out Rs 40 lakh," they said.

Rabi hopes

According to Dr Masood Ali, the current wet spell in North, West and central India promises hope for the rabi season for which sowing will begin during October-November. "The rains will ensure that the soils retain moisture and it could result in increased coverage of the pulses crop. Area under pulses is likely to rise," he said.

On the other hand, the Maharashtra Government is set to clamp the Essential Commodities Act by bringing in stock limit, according to Mr Bhartiya.

The Union Government last week said the Essential Commodities Act, passed by Parliament a fortnight ago, had been brought into force. After the Act was passed, prices of pulses tended to be volatile before beginning to rise.

On Tuesday, the PSU trading house MMTC floated a tender to import 1,500 tonnes each of moong and tur.

"We feel the Centre is not doing enough especially on the import front," said Mr Bhartiya.

More Stories on : Pulses | Natural Calamities | Outlook | Economy

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Fresh spurt of rains likely in Kerala, TN

Prices of pulses zoom; more crop damage feared

Sundaram BPO arm-ETA venture to tap Gulf BPO biz

BSNL offers pre-paid scheme on fixed line

India moves up in World Bank's `Doing Business' rankings

Easier exposure limit for infrastructure lending sought

Cognizant acquires US co AimNet

12K in sight; metal stocks have good outing

Amtek India: Quiet buying seen

UWB okays Rs 350-cr rehab package

United Western Bank: A failure well flagged

New drug policy to arm regulator with more teeth

Cardamom planters float new company for direct marketing