Yellow peas price to move up 10% by March

Price has jumped over 20% in last two months after touching abnormally low level of Rs 1,900 a quintal in December

The price of yellow peas is likely to move up at least by 10 per cent by March-end on rising consumption and lower production from domestic sources.

In December last year, the pulse was costing Rs 1,900 a quintal. The commodity is currently trading at Rs 2,350 a quintal in the market here.

Towards the end of April 2014, however, the price was shot up by over 25 per cent in a short span of less than two months on reduced import from Canada, the largest exporter to India. The pulses touched Rs 3,100 a quintal by April 2014. This will lead to rise prices of other pulses also.

“The year 2014 was exceptional for yellow peas, which is unlikely to get repeated in terms of prices. But, the commodity will surely touch Rs 2,500-2,600 a quintal by March,” said Bimal Kothari, vice-president, India Pulses and Grains Association and managing director of Pancham International, a city based pulses trader.

India’s annual yellow peas consumption stands at around 2.5 million tonnes as against 0.6 million tonnes of production. The commodity is grown largely in Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states. Around 75 per cent of India’s yellow peas consumption, therefore, is met through imports of which over 90 per cent come from Canada and the remaining from Ukraine and Russia.

Yellow peas has seen huge import in October-November. However, since then there is no parity in international prices and domestic prices, leading to much less import thereafter. With renewed interest in buying from traders and stockists for building pipeline inventory, yellow peas might see a sudden surge in prices by next month, said a trader.

Meanwhile, unseasonal rainfall in January have played a spoilsport for yield and thereby overall output. “It is, therefore, lower production may lead to a situation where demand may outpace supply and hence prices shall shoot up. Also, lower crop expectations could prompt stockists to accumulate new crop stocks which will take the price up,” said the trader.