Pulse prices hit roof on rain worries

Prices of pulses in spot and futures continued to rise today on concerns over kharif crop amid deficient rainfall in most key growing areas, coupled with shortage of stocks due to lower crop output in the last season, dealers said.

Although spot chana prices were down 0.5 per cent in Delhi, futures prices on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (Ncdex) were up over 1.5 per cent, tailing Friday’s 5 per cent jump in spot prices. Ncdex July and August futures for chana were trading at Rs 2,363 per 100 kg,, up 1.42 per cent from Friday, and Rs 2,448, up Rs 1.45, respectively.

Tur and urad futures were banned in early 2007 by the government. But their spot prices again jumped 2-3 per cent today.

Tur has already risen 20 per cent in the current week, while urad, and moong also rose around 15 per cent during the same period.

Lemon tur at Vashi was trading at Rs 5,650 per 100 kg, compared with Rs 5,500 late Friday, while urad quoted Rs 4,000-4,100, up Rs 100 from the previous day.

India’s agricultural department has estimated the local tur crop at 3 million tonne in 2008-09 (Apr-Mar), down around 30 per cent from the previous year. However, various trade estimates indicate the crop size to be between 2.0 and 2.2 million tonne, down 50 per cent from the previous year.

Similarly, the combined crop size of urad and moong was also estimated at 1.4 million tonne last year, compared with an average of 2.5-3.0 million tonne in the previous years.

This, along with lower imports in the last financial year, has created shortage of pulses in the country, while demand continues to increase, Minister of State for Agriculture KV Thomas said in a reply to question asked in Rajya Sabha on Friday. India imported 2.15 million tonne of pulses in the first 11 months of FY09, compared with 2.95 million tonne and 2.49 million tonne it imported in the two years immediately preceding last year, a government statement said.

The price rise has been accentuated by growing fear of a second consecutive crop failure this kharif season due to scanty rains in the major pulses growing areas of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, trade experts said.