Madhya Pradesh: Pulses to become dearer in coming weeks, say traders

Be prepared to shell out more for pulses in the coming weeks as unseasonal rains will hit its production in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra – the two major cultivation belts in the country, traders in Indore said on Monday.

Be prepared to shell out more for pulses in the coming weeks as unseasonal rains will hit its production in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra – the two major cultivation belts in the country, traders in Indore said on Monday.

Even as the state government is assessing the crop damage, the prices of rabi pulses including chana (chickpeas) and masur (lentil) have already started soaring in the wholesale markets after reports of crop damage in different parts of the country.

"Chana (gram) prices have gone up by Rs 100 per quintal in the past five days from Rs 3,400 to Rs 3,500 on Monday," wholesale trader Rakesh Khandelwal said.

The union agriculture ministry, in a survey conducted prior to the unseasonal rains, had estimated the chana production to drop to 8.28 million tonne from last year's 9.53 million tonne due to a fall in acreage.

But now, after the current spell of rains, even this estimation appears unlikely as the chana crops are still in the pod-filling stage.

Traders expect the chana prices to rise 10% in next one or two months following lower acreage and crop damages in major growing states. "Chana prices are expected to firm up further once the new season crop arrives and crop sizes are finally known," Khandelwal said.

Traders say farmers did not get remunerative price last year, which resulted into lower acreage this year.