Chana shipments gain pace on low price, export parity

Exports of Bengal gram or desi chickpea (chana) have picked up in recent months on robust demand from countries such as Bangladesh and Iran, among others. This is even as procurement by Nafed has gained pace, while prices continue to rule below the minimum support price of ₹5,335 per quintal across mandis in the key producing States.

According to the latest data, exports of desi chana saw an almost 10-fold growth to 52,495 tonnes in February 2023, as compared to 5,373 tonnes in the same period last year, data compiled by IGrain India said. “With prices ruling below MSP, the resulting export parity, coupled with lower transportation costs to Bangladesh when compared to other origins such as Canada and Australia, led to higher shipments,” said Rahul Chauhan of IGrain India.

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Bangladesh purchased over 47,518 tonnes in February. Similarly, Iran, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the UK, stepped up purchases in the month, while other large buyers such as the UAE and Qatar saw a dip in volumes. “Desi chickpea procurement by Nafed has been good, above 13 lakh tonnes(lt) so far. This has provided good support to the market price. Exports have been much better than last year and shipments to Bangladesh were especially strong. Ramadan was early this year, and so we saw good demand in February,” said Harsha Rai, Vice-President -- Sales, at Mayur Global Corporation, an international broker of pulses.

Overall shipments of chana during April-February of 2022-23 were up at over 1.26 lt, an increase of 195 per cent over the same period last year at 42,941 tonnes. Bangladesh has been the largest buyer at over 53,733 tonnes during this period, followed by the UAE at 34,296 tonnes and Iran at over 28,366 tonnes.

According to APEDA data, India’s total exports of all categories of pulses during April-February has almost doubled at over 6.44 lt, compared to the same period last year at 3.42 lt. In value terms, India’s pulses shipments during the April-February period of FY 2022-23 were higher by around 74 per cent at $555 million over the same period last year at $318 million.

Meanwhile, the procurement of desi chana has picked up, with total purchases by Nafed exceeding 13.76 lt valued at ₹7,343 crore as on April 25. Procurement in Maharashtra has topped 5.48 lt, while it has crossed 3.76 lt in Madhya Pradesh. In Gujarat, procurement stood at over 2.50 lt, while in Karnataka it has inched up to over 72,318 tonnes. In Andhra, chana procurement stood at 56,406 tonnes, Telangana at 50,238 tonnes, and in Rajasthan it stood at 20,545 tonnes.

According to the second advance estimates of the Agriculture Ministry, gram production in 2022-23 is seen at 136.32 lt, ahead of the targeted 135 lt. Last year, production stood at 135.44 lt.

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Despite rising procurement and growing exports, prices remain below the MSP of ₹5,335 per quintal across mandis. In Rajasthan, the modal prices of gram ranged between ₹4,009-4,600 across mandis, while in MP modal prices stood at between ₹4,525 and ₹4,750 per quintal across mandis.

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