Chana prices may remain firm due to lower supply in the domestic market coupled with weak rupee which has made imports costlier.

Besides tight supply, kharif pulses sowing have fallen due to delay in monsoon.

According to the India Meteorological Department, monsoon rains in 2012 would be 96 per cent of the long-term average overall, down from April forecast of 99 per cent.

About 36 per cent of the total pulses in India are grown in the kharif season.

According to preliminary reports, pulses have been sown in 15.11 lakh hectares so far in the current sowing season against the target of 17.49 lakh hectares.

Area, production

In Andhra Pradesh, the area under kharif pulses is down by 92 per cent to 0.07 lakh hectares compared with 0.92 lakh hectares in the same period last year.

Area under kharif pulses in Maharashtra is down by 6 per cent at 94,875 hectares against 1,00,431 hectares in the same period last year.

According to the third advance estimates, pulses output is pegged at 17.02 million tonnes in 2011-12 compared with 18.24 mt produced last year.

Chana output is estimated lower at 7.4 mt against 7.66 mt in the second estimate. Last year, chana production was at 8.22 mt.

Import data

According to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, 20.23 lakh tonnes of peas, 2.03 lakh tonnes of chana, 4.32 lakh tonnes of urad and moong, 1.12 lakh tonnes of masoor and 4.26 lakh tonnes of tur have been imported between April 2011 and March 2012. 

For 2012-13, the MSP of urad has been increased by 30 per cent to Rs 4,300 per quintal. The Government is yet to announce tur and moong MSP. 

comment COMMENT NOW