2023-04-25 14:02:41
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 Rs 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 so far. This has provided good support to the market price. Exports have been much better than last year; 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 lakh tonnes, 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 lakh tonnes, compared to the same period last year at 3.42 lakh tonnes. 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 lakh tonnes valued at Rs 7,343 crore as on April 25. Procurement in Maharashtra has topped 5.48 lakh tonnes, while it has crossed 3.76 lakh tonnes in Madhya Pradesh. In Gujarat, procurement stood at over 2.50 lakh tonnes, 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 lakh tonnes, ahead of the targeted 135 lakh tonnes. Last year, production stood at 135.44 lakh tonnes.
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Despite rising procurement and growing exports, prices remain below the MSP of Rs 5,335 per quintal across mandis. In Rajasthan, the modal prices of gram ranged between Rs 4,009-4,600 across mandis, while in MP modal prices stood at between Rs 4,525 and Rs 4,750 per quintal across mandis.
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