Post-festival blues may hit pulses

With the festival season almost over, the overall pulses market is heading towards a weak phase in the near future. Good crops coupled with relatively less demand will keep the markets low.

Many pulses, including moong and urad, have already hit the market more than two months back, and tur and chana are expected to arrive in December and February, respectively.

The sowing of chana has started in major producing regions - Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The general outlook for chana suggests that the pulse is headed towards a bearish phase, reflected in the futures as well as the spot markets.

Low prices of chana may force farmers to shift to wheat, which is enjoying a high minimum support price (MSP), trading sources said. According to a Indore-based trader, "Many farmers having irrigation facilities may shift to wheat from chana."

Analysts said the prices of pulses could fluctuate, but would remain high only for a very short period.

At present, urad in Indore is in the range of Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,300 a quintal where as moong is reported to be between Rs 2,100 and Rs 2,300 a quintal.

In Delhi, chana is witnessing weak sentiments. Arrival are in the range of 350-400 tonnes per day. "Even during Diwali, there was relatively less trading in the market as the demand was less," said an analyst from Agriwatch Commodities. In Indore, the spot trading is ruling at around Rs 2,330 a quintal.

Urad and moong have seen better acreage and crop this year. For instance, the kharif urad crop is assessed by market experts at around 15 lakh tonnes, while last year (including rabi and kharif) it stood at less than 10 lakh tonnes.

On the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), the December futures of chana closed on Monday at Rs 2,378 a quintal against the previous close of Rs 2,371 a quintal.