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Pulses output may be below estimates

Output of pulses is expected to be lower this year due to erratic monsoons, said a government official. An adequate supply is to be made sure of in order to prevent prices from soaring. ​​The government has estimated the output to be 8.23 million tonnes from the kharif, or summer-sown, crop, against 8.59 million tonnes the year before.

New Delhi: India’s quest for self-reliance in pulses may suffer a setback this year, because output is likely to be lower than the official estimates that were prepared before erratic weather damaged the crop. Officials said the government was closely watching the situation and would ensure adequate supply of protein-rich seeds to prevent a price spike, like the one in onions following crop damage from floods.

The government has estimated the output to be 8.23 million tonnes from the kharif, or summer-sown, crop, against 8.59 million tonnes the year before. The summer crop contributes 35-40% to India’s annual pulses production of around 25 million tonnes.

States have reported damage across 6.4 million hectares of total crops, out of which 4.7 million hectares fall mainly in pulses and oilseeds producing states such as Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

“We fear the damage in crop size could be to the extent of 10-12%. The focus is now on the rabi season, where planting has reached last year’s level. With conducive weather conditions, output is also likely to be close to last year’s rabi production,” said a senior agriculture department official, who did not wish to be named.

“But the shortfall in kharif is unlikely to be compensated,” he added. The government hoped to cut imports of pulses after three successive years of a good harvest, but dry weather at the start of this year’s monsoon and excessive rain toward the end damaged the crop.

“The area covered was almost at last year’s level of 13.6 million hectares. But flood and heavy rains washed away crops in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat,” said the official. The official drive to boost pulses production started in 2016-17 after the country had to import the commodity in large quantities the previous year to meet local requirements.

The output jumped 50% to 23.13 million tonnes that year. “The trend continued while the output touched a record 25.42 mt in 2017-18, followed by 23.4 mt in 2018-19. All these years, the production was close to our annual domestic demand of around 25.4 mt. But this year, it is likely to slip due to lower kharif output,” said another official.

Source :https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/pulses-output-may-be-below-estimates/articleshow/72985612.cms

Decline in selling pressure lifts pulses

Speculators’ grip and decline in selling pressure from the Nafed has once again perked up the majority of pulses and pulse seeds in Indore mandis with urad (bold) rising to ₹7,800-8,100 a quintal, while urad (medium) ruled at ₹6,000-6,100. Urad dal (medium) was quoted at ₹8,500-8,600, urad dal (bold) at ₹8,700-8,800, while urad moongar ruled at ₹10,100-10,500. Our Correspondent.

Usually, the pulses production in a crop year is divided on 6:4 ratio between the winter and summer crops.

The country’s pulses production stood at 234 lakh tonne in the 2018-19 crop year, down from the record level of 254 lakh tonne in 2017-18. In fact, thanks to MSP increases, some improvement in public procurement and buffer stocks norms announced, India’s pulses production saw a big increase in 2016-17 to 231 lakh tonne from 163 lakh tonne in 2015-16, the year that saw a spike in prices. The government policy over the last few years was guided by an intent to reduce import dependence (which was as high as around 40% of the domestic consumption).

In the current kharif season, Rajasthan, which is the largest producer of moong, is the worst affected with 27 lakh hectare got damaged while Karnataka had over 9 lakh hectare under water. As many as 15 states have reported crop areas got ‘damaged’ by floods, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar had said last week in parliament. The Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) has already visited 13 affected states for on-the-spot assessment of damages due to floods, he said.

Source : https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/decline-in-selling-pressure-lifts-pulses/article30164485.ece

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Kharif 2019: After crisis of 2015-16, another pulses deficit looms

. Due to the initial delay in monsoon rains, kharif sowing could not progress and the government itself had pegged the output lower at 82.3 lakh tonne in the first estimate from 86 lakh tonne in the year ago.

By Prabhudatta Mishra
Half a decade after the country witnessed a price surge in pulses, these items may become dearer again, starting March 2020. The kharif 2019 pulses output could be at least some 6 lakh tonne lower than the 82.3 lakh tonne estimated, due to large-scale crop damages in key producing states such as Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.

Also, the rabi (winter) crop may fall, given that prolonged monsoon and resultant floods have delayed the sowing activity — on a year-on-year basis, the winter-sowing of pulses is now down a fifth.

Usually, the pulses production in a crop year is divided on 6:4 ratio between the winter and summer crops.

The country’s pulses production stood at 234 lakh tonne in the 2018-19 crop year, down from the record level of 254 lakh tonne in 2017-18. In fact, thanks to MSP increases, some improvement in public procurement and buffer stocks norms announced, India’s pulses production saw a big increase in 2016-17 to 231 lakh tonne from 163 lakh tonne in 2015-16, the year that saw a spike in prices. The government policy over the last few years was guided by an intent to reduce import dependence (which was as high as around 40% of the domestic consumption).

In the current kharif season, Rajasthan, which is the largest producer of moong, is the worst affected with 27 lakh hectare got damaged while Karnataka had over 9 lakh hectare under water. As many as 15 states have reported crop areas got ‘damaged’ by floods, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar had said last week in parliament. The Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) has already visited 13 affected states for on-the-spot assessment of damages due to floods, he said.

Source : https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/kharif-2019-after-crisis-of-2015-16-another-pulses-deficit-looms/1776410/

Bullish trend continues in pulses

Amid weak availability and report of damage to crops on account of excessive rains this season, bullish trend in moong and urad continued, with moong bold rising to ₹6,800-7,000 a quintal, while moong medium ruled at ₹6,000- 6,500. Moong dal (medium) was quoted at ₹8,200-8,300, moong dal (bold) at ₹8,300-8,400, while moong moongar ruled at ₹8,500-8,600. Urad (bold) was quoted at ₹7,400-7,600, while urad (medium) rose to ₹5,500-6,000. Urad dal (medium) was quoted at ₹7,400-7,500 and urad dal (bold) at ₹7,800-7,900.

Kharif food grains output estimated at 140.57 million tonnes

TThe country’s food grains production during the rainfed Kharif season is estimated at 140.57 million tonnes – 0.8% down from the total output estimated in 2018-19 Kharif. However, it is 6.38% more than average foodgrain production of previous five years’ (2013-14 to 2017-18).

As per the first advance estimate released by agriculture ministry, the output of rice is estimated at 100.35 million tonnes while pulses production is estimated at 8.23 million tonnes. In last Kharif season the pulses production has been estimated at 8.59 million tonnes.

“The assessment of production of different crops is based on the feedback received from States and validated with information available from other sources. The production figures will vary as there is lot of time left for harvest,” said a senior agriculture department official.

The total kharif oilseeds production in the country during 2019-20 is estimated at 22.39 million tonnes which is higher by 1.11 million tonnes than the production of 21.28 million tonnes during 2018-19. The production of oilseeds during 2019-20 is also higher by 2.17 million tonnes than the average oilseeds production.

The output of coarse cereals is estimated at 32.00 million tonnes which is higher by 1.01 million tonnes than the production of 30.99 million tonnes achieved during 2018-19.

The production of sugarcane in the country during 2019-20 is estimated at 377.77 million tonnes, which is around 6% down from last year’s production.

“First delay in monsoon spoilt the prospects of sugarcane crops and then excessive rains and floods damaged the standing crops. This has reduced the crop size. However, damage is not to that extent,” the official said.

However, the production of cotton is estimated at 32.27 million bales (of 170 kg each), which is higher by 3.56 million bales than the production of 28.71 million bales during 2018-19.

Source : https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/kharif-food-grains-output-estimated-at-140-57-million-tonnes/articleshow/71259893.cms

Surplus August rains boost overall kharif acreage

Cotton, soyabean gain in area while rice sees a decline

Two-thirds of the landmass in the country received normal or excess rainfall this monsoon season, helping kharif planting to reach almost the levels of the previous kharif season. According to the kharif sowing data released by the Agriculture Ministry on Friday, plantings have covered nearly 1,010 lakh hectares (lh), compared with 1,027 lh in the corresponding period last year.

Rice is lagging

The laggard among the crops has been rice, which is down by nearly 5 per cent. Rice is transplanted on 355 lh so far, as against 372 lh last year. The shortfall was mainly because of poor sowing in Bihar, Karnataka and West Bengal.

On the other hand, there was good pick-up in pulses planting with most pulses-growing districts in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajashtan getting good rains in August. According to Met officials, the country as a whole received 15 per cent more rainfall than normal in August.

There is substantial improvement in oilseeds planting too. The increase was mainly in soyabean, which surpassed last year’s by 1 lh till this week. Good rains in Gujarat also helped increase the acreage of groundnut, even though the overall area under groundnut is still down by 2 per cent.

The one doing substantially well this year is cotton. Good market prices the crop fetched in the last season have prompted more farmers to go for cotton. Total area under cotton crop is around 125 lh, which is nearly 7 per cent more than last year’s. Market watchers say the crop has received rains at the right time and this may push up the yield by 15 to 25 per cent this year.

Pest threat to maize

Even though coarse cereals also matched the area sown last year, there is a worry that fallarmy worm infestation may hit the maize yield.

The bountiful rains have ensured that water bodies have sufficient water for the coming rabi season. According to the Central Water Commission, the 107 reservoirs that it monitors have a total of 126.63 billion cubic metres of water till Thursday, which is 11 per cent more than that in the corresponding week last year.

Source :https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/surplus-august-rains-boost-overall-kharif-acreages/article29301914.ece

Sluggish trend in pulses continues

The sluggish trend in pulse seeds and pulses continued at the mandis in Indore on weak demand. Moong (bold) declined to ₹5,800-₹5,900 a quintal, while moong (medium) ruled at ₹5,200-₹5,500. Moong dal (medium) was at ₹7,200-₹7,300 , moong dal (bold) at ₹7,400-₹7,500, while moong mongar ruled at ₹7,800-₹7,900. Urad (bold) fetched ₹5,000-₹5,200, while urad (medium) ruled at ₹4,200 . Urad dal (medium) went for ₹5,700-₹5,800, urad dal (bold) at ₹5,900-₹6,000, while urad mongar ruled at ₹6,500-₹6,600.

Pulses prices drop 10% over imports

New Delhi: Arrival of imported pulses from Africa and Myanmar at Indian ports has led to a 5-10 per cent fall in their prices in the past one week, said traders and millers. The supply will peak by end-August and the start of September, keeping prices weak during the festive season, they said.

Pulses are a key ingredient of snacks and sweets, and their demand increases around the festive months of September and October. India has allowed import of 4 lakh tonnes of tur and 1.5 lakh tonnes each of moong and urad by processors till October 31, to avoid any shortages in the festive season and ensure that prices remain stable.

Pulses prices drop 10% over imports

New Delhi: Arrival of imported pulses from Africa and Myanmar at Indian ports has led to a 5-10 per cent fall in their prices in the past one week, said traders and millers. The supply will peak by end-August and the start of September, keeping prices weak during the festive season, they said.

Pulses are a key ingredient of snacks and sweets, and their demand increases around the festive months of September and October. India has allowed import of 4 lakh tonnes of tur and 1.5 lakh tonnes each of moong and urad by processors till October 31, to avoid any shortages in the festive season and ensure that prices remain stable.

Kharif crop output expected to match last year’s production

Better rainfall in next 2 months expected to help in paddy sowing

Foodgrain production in the ongoing kharif (summer sown) season is expected to be same as last year’s despite deficient monsoon rains so far as there is still time to sow paddy and other crops, a senior government official said Tuesday.

“At this moment, we expect kharif crops to be more or less same as that of last year,” Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General Trilochan Mohapatra told reporters here on the sidelines of its Foundation Day event.

Better rainfall

“Rice could be sown till August-end. So there is enough time,” he said, adding that MeT department has forecast better monsoon in August and September.

Challenges

However, he said the farm sector is facing many challenges in form of water scarcity, providing right prices to farmers for their produce, market linkage and achieving sharp jump in agri-exports. He said availability of water to farmers has become a challenge and advocated efforts to boost yield of rain-fed crops.

Source :https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/kharif-crop-output-expected-to-match-last-years-production/article28491202.ece

Govt to enhance import limit on Tur Dal

Government has decided to enhance the import limit on Tur Dal from two lakh metric tonne to four lakh metric tonne for the year 2019 – 20. Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Danve Raosaheb Dadarao said this in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

He said the government has also decided to release two lakh metric tonne of Tur Dal, available in the buffer stock of pulses to States and Union Territories under the Price Stabilization Fund. The Minister said Centre had signed an MoU with Mozambique, in July 2016 to improve domestic availability and facilitate price stability of Tur and other pulses.

Farmers ready for kharif, hope for good rains

Visakhapatnam: Farmers in the district expect a reasonably good monsoon and are gearing up for the kharif season, given the rainfall over the last few days. Tilling for kharif will start after another good shower.

In the meantime, agriculture department authorities are gearing up for seed distribution. Sources in the department disclosed that the process will begin from Monday, and added that seed for the main crop, paddy, is ready for distribution in various mandals of the district. Sources further added that they had positioned the stock keeping in view the uncertainty of the timing of the monsoon.

As on date Government is not planning to import pulses: Ram Vilas Paswan

Government has approved creation of dynamic buffer stock of pulses of upto 20 lakh tonnes

The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan has informed in Lok Sabha that as on date Government is not planning to import pulses.

In the month of September 2018, Government launched a scheme for disposal of stock of pulses procured under Price Support Scheme (PSS) during Kharif and Rabi season 2017-18, by way of distribution to States/UTs for utilization under various welfare schemes like MDM, PDS, ICDS, etc. with Central subsidy of Rs 15 per kg over the issue price as a one-time measure for a period of 12 months or till PSS pulses stock of 34.88 lakh MT lasts (whichever is earlier).

As per the 3rd Advance Estimates released by Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, production of pulses for the year 2018-19 is estimated to be 23.22 Million MT (MMT) as compared to 25.42 MMT as per final estimates for the year 2017-18.

Government has taken various measures to ensure availability of pulses and moderate its price fluctuations. Such measures include initiatives for increasing production and productivity of pulses through National Food Security Mission (NFSM), announcing appropriate Minimum Support Price (MSP) to incentivize production, etc. Further, Government has signed a MoU with Mozambique for assured supply of Tur and other pulses and also suitably amends trade policy to improve availability, etc.

In addition, calibrated releases are made from buffer stock of pulses from time to time to moderate price fluctuations.

Source : https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-cm/as-on-date-government-is-not-planning-to-import-pulses-ram-vilas-paswan-119062500863_1.html

Pulses import quota for processors likely to be raised

New Delhi: The government may increase the pulses import quota for processors, said millers and traders. Lower supplies of tur in the domestic market and the global market have led to its prices firming up to Rs 100 a kg in the retail market. Prices of other pulses like urad dal and yellow peas were also bullish, they said.

The trade said the government may allow additional import of a few lakh tonnes of tur alone, apart from the existing quota of two lakh tonnes it has issued.

Kothari said that globally, tur production was less as for the past few years India had restricted imports. India imports tur from Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania, urad from Myanmar and yellow peas from Canada, Ukraine and Russia. Currently, India has allowed import of two lakh tonne of tur and 1.5 lakh tonne each of moong, urad and yellow peas.

Tur, harvested recently, has seen a drop of 12 per cent-15 per cent in the rabi season. This resulted in a price hike of over 65 per cent in the past two months to Rs 5,600-5,700 per quintal, said Rajesh Paharia, a pulses and grain trader from Delhi. “We expect a drop in acreage of tur in kharif planting due to drought condition in Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra, he said.

Source :https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/news/pulses-import-quota-for-processors-likely-to-be-raised/articleshow/69511537.cms

Rising demand lifts chana futures by 1.43 per cent

Chana prices went up by 1.43 per cent to Rs 4,678 per quintal in futures trade Monday as participants expanded their positions, driven by rising demand in the spot market.

On the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, chana for delivery in July was trading higher by Rs 66, or 1.43 per cent, at Rs 4,678 per quintal with an open interest of 1,38,180 lots.

Similarly, chana for delivery in August was trading higher by Rs 64, or 1.36 per cent, at Rs 4,786 per quintal with an open interest of 14,310 lots.

Analysts said widening of positions by traders, following rising demand in the spot market against restricted supplies from producing regions, mainly led to the rise in prices.

Government to sell 2 lakh tonne tur dal in the open market from pulses stock

New Delhi: The government has decided to sell 2 lakh tonnes of Tur dal to open market from the buffer stock of pulses. The government has a buffer stock of 11.53 million tonnes of pulses. In addition, a stock of 27.32 lakh tonnes of pulses is under PSS scheme with nafed. Altogether, 39 lakh tonnes of pulses are available with the government.

License to be issued soon

As per the information received from the sources, 1.75 million tonnes of Tur dal will be imported this year under the India-Mozambique G2G agreement. Licenses will be issued within 10 days on applications received for import. The order to import 2 lakh tonnes of Tur Dal was issued on 4 June. It is expected that the price of pulses will fall.

With this, the trend of alleged increase in prices of Tur Dal was reviewed with Secretary, Consumer affairs, Secretary, Food & Public Distribution and Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Joint Secretary Commerce.

Source :https://english.newstracklive.com/news/government-to-sell-2-lakh-tonne-tur-dal-in-the-open-market-from-pulses-stock-1015091-1.html

Centre to increase arhar dal import limit to 4 lakh tonnes

The government on Tuesday decided to raise the import limit on arhar dal to 4 lakh tonnes (LT) from the present 2 LT as there were media reports that the prices have gone up in the market. The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting convened by Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

The meeting, attended by senior officials from food, consumer affairs, agriculture and commerce ministries, also decided to ask state-owned NAFED to offload 2 LT arhar dal in the open market, a statement said. It also decided to import 1.75 LT of pulses from Mozambique under bilateral trade treaty.

According to the sources, the government would issue licences to private traders who are applying for import licences within 10 days of receiving applications. Reiterating that there was no reason to be panic, the sources said there are about 39 LT of pulses available with the state-run firms with Nafed alone keeping a stock of 27 LT.

The government also said it would take strict action against hoarders and black marketeers who are being monitored regularly.

Source : https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/centre-to-increase-arhar-dal-import-limit-to-4-lakh-tonnes/article27823376.ece

Tur dal turns expensive as India, global demand rises

Pune: Domestic as well as the international prices of tur have started moving upward as demand grew in India amid declining availability and concerns over monsoon rainfall.

Myanmar will harvest its tur crop in June and has started quoting higher prices as the demand and prices of tur have been moving upward in India. The Indian government has allowed import of 1.75 lakh tonnes of tur from Mozambique and will issue licences to dal millers for import of an additional 2 lakh tonnes of tur.

Wholesale prices of whole tur have crossed the minimum support level set by government after a gap of 2.5 years. Presently, price of whole tur is ruling at about Rs 58/kg in Latur in Maharashtra, while the ex-mill price of tur dal (made by splitting whole tur) are ruling at about Rs 85/kg. Retail tur dal prices have already crossed the Rs 100/kg benchmark. Earlier, tur dal prices had briefly touched Rs 100/ kg in 2009, while they had ruled above Rs 200/kg in retail for a few months in 2015.

Source :https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/news/tur-dal-turns-expensive-as-india-global-demand-rises/articleshow/69351731.cms

India allows 650,000 tonnes of pulse imports this fiscal year

Two straight years of drought pushed up pulse prices in 2015 and forced New Delhi to allow duty-free imports. But record imports of 6.6 million tonnes in the 2016/17 fiscal year led to a crash in local prices.

India has issued a combined 650,000 tonne import quota for pulses for the fiscal year to March 2020, a government order said, allowing overseas purchases of protein-rich pulse varieties that are a staple of Indian cuisine.

Two straight years of drought pushed up pulse prices in 2015 and forced New Delhi to allow duty-free imports. But record imports of 6.6 million tonnes in the 2016/17 fiscal year led to a crash in local prices.

As part of its efforts to curb imports, the government started fixing import quotas in 2018.

India is the world’s biggest producer and consumer of pulses, and mainly consumes varieties such as yellow peas, green gram and chickpeas.

Farmers in Russia, Canada, Australia and Myanmar mainly rely on Indian demand.

Source : https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/india-allows-650000-tonnes-of-pulse-imports-this-fiscal-year-3765611.html

FCI disposes of almost entire pulses stock of 2.98 lakh tonne

FCI had a stock of 2.98 lakh tonne of pulses procured at the minimum support price (MSP) during 2015-16 and 2016-17 marketing years (July-June).

State-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) has disposed of 2.97 lakh tonne of pulses, nearly the entire stock it procured in last two years, to various states and to bulk consumers, according to an official data.

FCI had a stock of 2.98 lakh tonne of pulses procured at the minimum support price (MSP) during 2015-16 and 2016-17 marketing years (July-June).

As per the latest data, the agency has cleared 2.97 lakh tonne of pulses comprising ‘tur’, ‘masoor’, ‘moong’ and ‘urad’ till February 2019.

Of this, 2.36 lakh tonne was sold through electronic auction mode to bulk users, while the rest through states.

Less than 800 tonne is left with FCI, which will also be disposed of, the data added.

FCI is the central nodal agency that undertakes mainly the procurement and distribution of wheat and rice at the MSP. It started procuring pulses in the last two years to ensure farmers get the support price.

Source :https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/fci-disposes-of-almost-entire-pulses-stock-of-2-98-lakh-tonne-3633191.html

Pulses steady ahead of road bans, spring seeding

The Canadian Special Crops Association allowed delegates to weigh in on the pulse market outlook at this year’s convention. The informal poll showed they were slightly bearish for yellow peas and red lentils, quite bearish on green peas, extremely bullish on green lentils and largely neutral for kabuli and desi chickpeas. | File photo

WINNIPEG – For pulses so far mid-winter there hasn’t been a great deal of movement price-wise, although there are two factors on the horizon that could generate some changes. Those factors being road restrictions and spring seeding, said Dale McManus of Johnston Grains in Welwyn, Sask.

Large green lentils are around 22 cents per pound picked up at the farm, he said, adding the lentils have slipped somewhat since the end of 2018.

Chickpeas are about 28 cents per pound, also picked up at the farm. That price has been pretty much flat so far this year, according to McManus.

Canary seed, he continued, made a gain of two cents Tuesday morning and was selling at 24 cents per pound. While yellow peas, until recently had been at C$7 per bushel he said.

“They seemed to have slipped somewhat, at C$6.75 to C$6.90 per bushel,” McManus noted.

While there hasn’t been much to move pulse prices either way, McManus pointed out road restrictions are coming towards the end of next month.

“Normally if you are in an area that is heavily restricted or you know you’re going to need cash, being a producer, you’re going to try move product,” he said.

As more pulses enter the commercial pipeline, that supply will want to push prices downward, which won’t see any improvement until spring seeding gets closer, he added.

“To get producers to grow more large green lentils, they are probably going to knock it up a couple of cents to encourage growers to put it in the ground,” McManus said, adding this is the normal cycle of prices as spring approaches.

Read more Source : https://www.producer.com/daily/pulses-steady-ahead-of-road-bans-spring-seeding/

Pulse prices are rising, but only a little

Buffer stocks resulting from Centre’s incentives have kept prices in check

The prices of pulses may have improved slightly since government agencies began procurement, but normalisation of market prices may have to wait till the end of the year, experts have said.

“The government’s efforts of encouraging farmers through higher minimum support prices (MSPs), which were much higher than the prices that the market can sustain, and creating buffer stocks of pulses much beyond the 1 million mt requirement, resulted in a sharp rise in pulses production during the 2016-17 season (23.13 mt ), but pulse prices suffered a huge setback on account of this,” said Sanjay Kaul, MD & CEO of National Collateral Management Services Limited (NCML).

Prices have still not fully recovered from that setback but government efforts like announcing schemes such as the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and curbing imports has to some extent absorbed the production surplus, Kaul said.

Market rates rising: NAFED

However, NAFED officials maintained that the prices of pulses are rising in the market. “In the last four months, there has been an increase in the market prices of major pulses across most markets in the country. Even though NAFED made a similar intervention in last year too, we didn’t see a similar uptick in mandi prices in the previous year,” said Sanjeev Kumar K Chadha, NAFED MD (see chart).

Urad production in 2018-19 is projected to be lower than the previous year’s 3.56 mt. According to the firm, despite the government increasing the MSP of urad to ₹5,600 from ₹5,400 a quintal, farmers shifted away from urad due to lower domestic prices throughout the year, it said.

Time for more schemes

According to Kaul, it’s time that the government announced additional schemes with export incentives not only on chana but on the exports of processed products made of chana, such as dal and besan.

Besides, the government should leverage its bilateral and free trade agreements with South Asian and South-East Asian countries. For instance, Bangladesh imports about 12-15 lakh tonnes of pulses, while Sri Lanka imports roughly 3 lakh tonnes.

Read more Source : https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/pulse-prices-are-rising-but-only-a-little/article26082320.ece

Rains hit tur harvest in Karnataka

Heavy unseasonal rains in Kalaburgi, north eastern Karnataka, which is a key producing region for tur (red gram) has hit the standing pulses crop, inflicting losses to growers, who were already reeling under the impact of a weak monsoon.

“Tur is currently being harvested in the region. The heavy rains have spoilt the harvest and also the standing crop. The government should immediately take up the assessment of crop losses and compensate the farmers,” said Basavaraj Ingin, President, Karnataka Red Gram Growers Association.

The tur crop-loss is expected to hit supply, and is likely to result in an uptrend in prices of the pulses crop, as the demand is expected to pick up ahead of Pongal. The new crop arrivals have begun, with rates in the range of ₹4,800-5,100 per quintal, still lower than the MSP of ₹5,600, said Santosh Langar, a dal miller in Kalaburgi. Arrivals are expected to gain pace by the end of December. Prices of the old crop are traded around ₹4,500-4,600 per quintal.

Maruti Manpade, a farmer leader, said the Centre should increase the compensation provided to farmers due to natural calamity from the current ₹6,800 per hectare to at least ₹25,000. The rains may help the standing rabi jowar crop, but could impact the gram crop in the region.

A low pressure in the Bay of Bengal could also bring more rains.

Source :https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/rains-hit-tur-harvest-in-karnataka/article25744943.ece

Rabi sowing down by 32 lakh hectares till this week

Crop coverage slipping across the board; some gains in oilseeds but the pace is dropping

The looming threat of drought has become more pronounced as the area planted during the current rabi season dipped further by 32 lakh hectares (lh) till this week compared with the corresponding period last year. According to the data released by the Agriculture Ministry, a total area of 355 lh has been planted so far compared with 387 lh in the same period of the previous rabi season.

The area under coarse cereals was down 27 per cent at 29.64 lh against 40.65 lh in the same period last year. The deficit in Maharashtra is 11.05 lh and in Karnataka 1.90 lh.

In the case of wheat, the fall in area under cultivation was reported from most key -growing States including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. The planting was nearly 15 per cent lower than the normal for the week, which stood at 180.21 lh. However, compared to last year, the the shortfall in planting was 2.42 per cent.

The momentum is slipping in the case of oilseeds also, even though till date it continued to be marginally higher than in the corresponding period last year. Some gain came from the mustard/rapeseed crop, which is still holding up with the planting being 4.29 per cent higher than that compared with the same week last year. The total area under oilseeds so far is 63.14 lh, which is up 0.38 per cent (62.90 lh).

The only silver lining seems to be the healthy levels of water in reservoirs. Cumulative water storage in 91 Central Water Commission monitored reservoirs stood at 98.35 billion cubic metre, 61 per cent of their total live storage capacity.

Source : https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/rabi-sowing-down-by-32-lakh-ha-till-this-week/article25636374.ece

More areas under pulses

A variety of crops will be grown in 97,700 hectares in rabi season, the DDA said. Seeds will be provided through PACS at the village level.

DHENKANAL: The district administration has assured farmers that commercial banks and cooperative societies will sanction agricultural loans for cultivating more pulses, vegetables and other crops in the rabi season.This was decided at the District Agricultural Strategy Committee meeting held in the presence of Collector Nikhil Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday.

Presenting details of rabi crops, Deputy Director of Agriculture Chhabindra Behera said pulses will be grown in 53,100 hectares, vegetables in 22,500 hectares, oil seeds in 15,200 hectares, paddy in 790 hectares and spices in 4,900 hectares, among others.

A variety of crops will be grown in 97,700 hectares in rabi season, the DDA said. Seeds will be provided through PACS at the village level. However, for any assistance, soil testing facility and need-based fertiliser will be provided. The committee decided to develop capacity of farmers for commercial farming, he said. All farmers will be informed and updated about facilities available for them, Behera added. The Agriculture department will provide all incentives and facilities on time.

Source :http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2018/nov/28/more-areas-under-pulses-1904281.html

India faces heat over import curbs on pulses

Crucial agriculture committee meeting on Monday in Geneva

India is facing increased heat at the World Trade Organization for continuing with its quantitative restrictions (QRs) on import of certain pulses to check falling prices in the domestic market.

Australia, Canada and the US, who had complained about the restrictions imposed in April, have submitted fresh questions on the validity of the measures under global trade rules and also demanded to know whether the government planned to extend the restrictions beyond the year-end.

“Despite many members raising concerns in several WTO committee meetings over the past year, India continues to maintain the QRs and, to date, has not explained how such measures are consistent with its WTO commitments,” the US representative noted in a question to India which will be taken up at the meeting of the WTO Committee on Agriculture (CoA) on Monday.

All the three countries have asked New Delhi to explain how its restrictions were justified under the WTO rules.

Australia, in its submission, noted that India’s QR of 100,000 tonnes of peas (including Yellow Peas, Green Peas, Dun Peas and Kaspa Peas), initially imposed for a period of three months till June 30, had been extended twice, first till September 30 and subsequently till December 31.

“Since India had earlier indicated that the QR was fully utilised during the first three months of restrictions, Australia wants to know whether additional volume has been included in the quota or whether there has been an effective import ban on peas for the July-December period,” the official said.

New Delhi has not lifted the quantitative restriction on pulses imports despite protests at the WTO as there is a glut in the domestic market and prices are ruling below the minimum support price (MSP).

The complainants also wanted to know whether India was intending to extend the QR for a third time following December 31 and how much notice did it intend to provide traders if there is an extension.

Apart from allowing import of 1 lakh tonnes of yellow peas in April this year, the Indian government also permitted 2 lakh tonnes of arhar and 3 lakh tonne of urad and moong through December.

“In case the shortfall in production continues, New Delhi may find it easier to do away with the import curbs,” the official said.

Source : https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/wto-india-faces-heat-over-import-curbs-on-pulses/article25591350.ece

Pulses, beans imported into India safe for consumption: FSSAI

NEW DELHI: Pulses and beans imported into India are safe for consumption with no presence of glyphosate, the country’s top food regulator said putting to rest concerns about contamination of these commodities with harmful toxins.

“There is no concern regarding the presence of glyphosate in these commodities. This is based on results of testing of these products over the past one month,” the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said in a statement on Thursday.

Following concerns about presence of glyphosate in imported pulses, the regulator had ordered testing of imported pulses such as dry beans, lentils, soya bean and peas to check presence of toxic herbicide glyphosate – used by farmers in some countries to prevent weeds in crop.

FSSAI had also asked its import offices at ports to start monitoring for presence of glyphosate for pulses and beans last month.

Pulses and beans are imported into India mainly through Mumbai, Chennai and Tuticorin.

However, the regulator will continue to monitor pulses for glyphosate for some more time till it is established for sure that there are no residues of glyphosate in imported pulses, FSSAI chief executive Pawan Agarwal said.

Analysis of the data collected about imported pulses through last one month shows out of 319 consignments tested, glyphosate residues were found in only 7 consignments and that too were within the prescribed maximum residue limits, the regulator said.

“So, …there is no concern of any kind, as FSSAI authorised officers at ports are regularly monitoring the presence of glyphosate in pulses at the time of import before their clearances,” the statement said.

Source :https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pulses-beans-imported-into-india-safe-for-consumption-fssai/articleshow/66640252.cms

Poor inflows lift pulses

Most of the pulses and pulse seeds edged up at the mandis in Indore amid weak arrivals. On Friday, moong (bold) new ruled at ₹5,500-5,700 a quintal, while moong (medium) new was ₹4,500-5,100. Urad (bold) new fetched ₹4,500-4,600, while urad (medium) new ruled at ₹3,600-4,000.

Masur traded lower on sluggish demand with masur (bold) at ₹3,650, while masur (medium) ruled at ₹3,375-3,400 a quintal respectively. Masur dal (medium) was at ₹4,900-4,950, while masur dal (bold) went for ₹5,100-5,200.

Pulses steady on muted demand

Pulses and pulse seeds at the mandis in Indore have been ruling steady on subdued demand from the millers. Tur (Maharashtra), in private trading, was at ₹3,900-3,950 a quintal, while tur (Madhya Pradesh) ruled at ₹3,500-3,600. Tur dal (sawa no.) traded at ₹5,200-5,300, tur dal (full) at ₹5,500-5,600, while tur mongar was at ₹6,100-6,200 a quintal. Moong (bold) fetched ₹5,000-5,300, while moong (medium) ruled at ₹4,200-4,500. Moong dal (medium) went for ₹6,000-6,100, moong dal (bold) and moong mongar ruled at ₹6,200-6,300. Urad (bold) new ruled at ₹4,000-4,300 a quintal, while urad (medium) new ruled at ₹3,500-3,600 a quintal.

Source :https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/commodities/headerpulses-steady-on-muted-demandheader/article25182982.ece

Price support for pulses: Traders eye 40% windfall as govt sells in the depressed market

Nafed offloads old stocks of lentils at 15-20% losses, to purchase kharif 2018 crop shortly at much higher MSPs.

Even as arrivals of the kharif 2018 crop have started in key markets and prices of fresh pulses seem depressed by 30-35%, the government is offloading its old lentil stocks in the market at 15-20% losses as it prepares itself for purchasing the new crop at the higher minimum support prices (MSPs).

For Nafed, the designated procurement agency for pulses and oil-seeds, the current sales are inevitable as it has to make room for storage of new crop, but in the process, it could end up offering a windfall for profit-hungry traders, leaving both the farmers and consumers in the lurch.

It is only to be expected that traders who buy the old stocks from Nafed now will sell these to the same agency when it undertakes MSP operations for new crop shortly, raking in big moolah. (Pulses MSPs for kharif 2018 are 4-25% higher than in the year-ago season).

According to the data reviewed by FE, Nafed’s average price realisation from sale of moong from last kharif season is Rs 4,762.67/quintal, down 15% from an MSP of Rs 5,575/quintal at which the stocks were purchased by it. So a trader who now buys last year’s moong stocks from Nafed will have the option of selling the same to Nafed in a few weeks at Rs 6,975/quintal, the MSP for the new season, and make a huge profit of over 40%.

Clearly, a vicious cycle has been created where neither the farmer nor the consumer benefits but only the large traders do. The odd situation exposes not only bad economics of the government’s open-end procurement policy but also its lack of efficacy when it comes to achieving the objective of ensuring remunerative prices to farmers. With limited storage infrastructure, Nafed is unwittingly driving down the market prices as it offloads stocks and inflating its own procurement costs.

Farmers in Gulbarga, Karnataka, are now selling their fresh harvest of moong crop at 33-35% below the MSP while in Maharashtra too, mandi prices of moong are ruling at 32% below the MSP. The moong MSP for kharif 2018 was increased 25% from the last year level as part of a government promise to set the benchmark prices at 150% over their production costs (A2+FL).

Nafed has 43.7 lakh tonne of unsold stocks of pulses now, 60% which is channa; some of the crops are as old as 16 months and need to be sold at the earliest to avoid damages.

“All the pulses purchased by Nafed under the price support scheme (PSS) are being sold at discounts since market rates are lower. Except in case of soybean, where Nafed has made a profit by selling above the procurement costs, it has made losses in oilseeds such as mustard, sunflower and groundnut as well,” a government official said.

Out of 48.74 lakh tonne of pulses procured by Nafed since 2016 under the augmented PSS, only about 5 lakh tonnes have been disposed of. Over 7.61 lakh tonne of oilseeds have been sold from total purchase of 22.17 lakh tonne during this period.

Sales at lower prices are necessitated by the space crunch in warehouses; the government has to vacate the godowns to store the fresh crops, said noted agriculture economist Ashok Gulati. He said the way pulses prices are moving, in the next few years the government’s peak stocks might increase to 10 million tonnes from around 7 million tonnes (2 million buffer plus 5 million tonnes under PSS) now.

India’s pulses production increased to a record 25.23 million tonnes in 2017-18 crop year (July-June). The government targets to increase the output to 28 million tonnes by 2022.

Rolling out a package — PM-AASHA — of price deficiency support schemes for agriculture crops, the government recently announced an extra Budget outlay of Rs 15,000 crore for procurement of non-National Food Security Act (NFSA) crops during the June 2018-July 2019 crop year. It also enhanced the government guarantee for Nafed to undertake procurement of pulses and oilseeds by Rs 16,550 crore to Rs 45,450 crore this fiscal.

Source : https://www.financialexpress.com/market/commodities/price-support-for-pulses-traders-eye-40-windfall-as-govt-sells-in-the-depressed-market/1319858/

Pulses production is on the rise in India, says experts

Jorhat : Pulses production in the country in recent time can be regarded as Pulse Revolution in the country as earlier the pulses production had remained stagnant around 14 million tons continuously for two decades, but since 2009-10 it has steadily increased to 25.23 MT in 2017-18, said Dr. Sanjeev Gupta, the Project Coordinator of All India Coordinated Research Project on MULLaRP (Rabi Crops) during his inaugural day function of the two days Annual Group Meet held at the Dr. MC Das memorial auditorium at the premises of Assam Agricultural University (AAU) here today.

The Coordinator of the project Dr. Sanjeev Gupta said, Lentil, lathyrus, rajmash, peas, and some other minor pulses are secondary winter legumes which altogether contributing 14% to the total pulses production. There is ample scope for bringing additional area under these pulses in newer niches like rice fallows, tal areas, hill agriculture and in intercropping for remunerating cropping system. It is estimated that additional 3.0 million hectare can be which could be brought under these pulses cultivation throughout India.

He said, the improvement work on these crops was initiated in the country at the beginning of the 20th century particularly with the establishment of the Imperial Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa, Bihar in 1910. However, the initial place of research on pulse had been through isolated individual efforts aimed at improvement of locally adopted but genetically variable population mainly by the method of pure line and mass selection with major emphasis on trades other than yields which resulted in the release of large number of pure line, some of which are cultivated in certain parts of the country.

Moreover establishment of All India Coordinated Pulses Improvement project in 1967 provided an opportunity to assess of improved germ plasm to pulse breeders and to test their improvement breeding line in multi-location, evaluation across the country. Later on this structure was brought under the ambit of separate AICRP on MULLaRP which got to be operational in November 1995 which coordinated research program on MULLaRP crops (lentil, field pea, rajmash and lathyrus) in India which is carried out through the All India Coordinated Research Project on MULLaRP administered by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. AICRP on MULLaRP is one of 61 coordinated project working under the aegis of ICAR. The AICRP on MULLaRP has a great network of 28 AICRP centres in 21 major pulses growing states of the country, 3 AICRP centres are located in 19 state agricultural universities, 2 in central universities and 2 in ICAR Institute. These AICRP centres pursue activities and strategic research in the area of crop improvement, production and protection, beside coordinated nuclear and breeder seeds production to meet out the demand of quality seed in the country and in order to transfer latest technology the project is joining hands with Director of Agricultural Council, Government of India through frontline demonstration for which the research capabilities and facilities of the cooperating centres are being strengthened through linking with various network.

A bio-fortified lentil variety IPL-220 which is resistant to wilt and rust has been recently released and notified for eastern UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam which has high iron, zinc and folate which is an important ingredient in winning food for growing children and health supplement for lactating and pregnant women , thus are important for achieving goal of nutritional security which also has a great promise in rice fallows of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Eastern UP and Jharkhand, said Dr Sanjeev Gupta.

Dr. PK Chakraborty –ADG-ICAR, New Delhi, Dr. GN Hazarika-ex-director Research, AAU Jorhat among Dr. A Bhattacharyya-director research-AAU spoke about the secondary winter legumes which are presently occupying nearly 3,0 million hectares of area in the country which also has a great promise in rice fallows of Assam, West Bemgal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand which is a very positive sign and a good work of AICPIP (All India Coordinated Pulses Improvement Project). (Ends)

Source :https://www.apnnews.com/pulses-production-is-on-the-rise-in-india-says-experts/

Peas up on retailers’ demand

NEW DELHI, Aug 25: Peas prices edged up by Rs 100 per quintal at the wholesale pulses market today on mild demand from retailers.

Elsewhere, other pulses moved in a narrow range on alternate bouts of trading and settled at last levels.
Traders attributed the rise in peas prices to mild demand from retailers.

In the national capital, peas white and green edged up by Rs 100 each to Rs 4,100-4,150 and Rs 4,200-4,300 per quintal, respectively.

Following are today’s rates (in Rs per quintal): urad Rs 4,100-5,200, urad Chilka (local) Rs 5,200-5,300, urad best Rs 5,300-5,800, Dhoya Rs 5,750-5,950, Moong Rs 4,900-5,400, Dal Moong Chilka local Rs 5,500-5,700, Moong Dhoya local Rs 6,000-6,500 and best quality Rs 6,500-6,700.

Masoor small Rs 3,750-4,050, bold Rs 3,800-4,100, Dal Masoor local Rs 4,300-4,700, best quality Rs 4,400-4,800, Malka local Rs 4,550-4,850, best Rs 4,650-4,950, Moth Rs 3,800-4,200, Arhar Rs 3,700 and Dal Arhar Dara Rs 5,000-6,900.

Gram Rs 4,150-4,300, Gram dal (local) Rs 4,400-4,800, best quality Rs 4,800-4,900, Besan (35 kg), Shakti bhog Rs 2,000, Rajdhani Rs 2,000, Rajma Chitra Rs 6,150-8,350, Kabuli Gram small Rs 5,000-5,800, Dabra Rs 2,700-2,800, imported Rs 4,700-5,100, Lobia Rs 3,400-3,600, Peas white Rs 4,100-4,150 and green Rs 4,200-4,300. (PTI)

Source : http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/peas-retailers-demand/

Centre to provide Rs 15/kg discount on pulses for poor

New Delhi, Aug 9 () The Union Cabinet today decided to provide a discount of Rs 15 per kilogram on pulses over wholesale market price to states for distribution under welfare schemes.

States and UTs will be offered to lift 34.88 lakh tonnes of Tur, Chana, Masoor, Moong and Urad at discount of Rs 15 per Kg over the prevailing wholesale market price on first come first serve basis.

This will be one-time dispensation for a period of 12 months or complete disposal of 34.88 lakh tonnes of pulses stock, whichever is earlier.

“Government will spend Rs 5,237 crore for implementation of this scheme,” said Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said after the Cabinet meeting

“Government will spend Rs 5,237 crore for implementation of this scheme,” said Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said after the Cabinet meeting.

The decision will enable the states/UTs to use pulses in various welfare schemes, besides making it available at the warehouses, which may be required in coming Kharif season for storage of commodities procured under price support scheme, said an official release.

The states/UTs will utilise pulses in their various welfare schemes/ programmes like Mid-Day Meal, Public Distribution System, and Integrated Child Development Programmes (ICDP). This will be one-time dispensation for a period of 12 months or complete disposal of 34.88 lakh tonnes of pulses.

The country has witnessed all time high production of pulses during the last 2 years.

The Centre under price support scheme has made record procurement of pulses during Kharif 2017 and Rabi 2018 marketing season.

A record procurement of 45.43 lakh MT of pulses has been done under price support scheme, the release said.

In the coming Kharif season, the production of pulses is expected to be good, it said, adding that this coupled with increase in minimum support price will require additional procurement under price support scheme. NKD CS BAL BAL

Source :https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/centre-to-provide-rs-15/kg-discount-on-pulses-for-poor/articleshow/65340881.cms

Tur import drops 84% in April-May: Govt

Import of tur has declined by 84 per cent to 16,000 tonnes during April-May this fiscal, the government today informed Parliament.

About 97,000 tonnes of tur (red gram) was purchased from the overseas market in the same period of the previous fiscal.

“There is a significant decline in import of the said commodity in the country over the last one year,” Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

It is due to higher local production and not import that is having adverse impact on domestic prices, he said.

While the Telangana government has demanded ban on import of tur but the Centre has already imposed quantitative restriction of 2 lakh tonnes per annum on import of tur, effective August 2017, he added.

Besides, the government has lifted ban on export of all varieties of pulses with effect from November 22, 2017 to boost overseas shipments.

As per the data placed before the Upper House, tur imports dropped by 41 per cent to 4.12 lakh tonnes in 2017-18 fiscal from 7.04 lakh tonnes during 2016-17.

Source : https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/tur-import-drops-84-in-april-may-govt-118080300789_1.html

From Green Revolution to Millet Revolution

Yesterday’s coarse grains are today’s nutri-cereals. If consumers see millets as a solution to lifestyle disorders, producers have realised that it requires less inputs and is an economically viable option if marketing avenues are created. Marking a major policy shift, the Centre and many States have decided to promote millets. Vishwanath Kulkarni reports

“Kodo kutki hatao soyabean lagao” was a popular slogan in the erstwhile unified rural Madhya Pradesh till early 2000s, exhorting millet farmers to go in for oilseeds crop, recalls veteran farm scientist A Seetharam. He spent almost four decades at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) working on millets such as ragi and kutki.

Last week, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said the Centre was promoting millets on a ‘mission mode’ to achieve nutritional security. This year (2018) has been declared the Year of Millets. The Millet Mission, under the National Food Security Mission, is expected to be rolled out in April, for the next few years. While States such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu have already taken steps to promote millets, Odisha announced a ₹100-crore mission last week.

Return to milletsThese nutrient-rich grains are making a quick comeback in the Indian agrarian landscape after decades of institutional neglect. Development agencies and farmers ignored these cereals in favour of rice, wheat and other crops such as oilseeds and pulses. Millets can grow in poor soil conditions with less water, fertiliser and pesticides. They can withstand higher temperatures, making them the perfect choice as ‘climate-smart’ cereals.

Though farmers have been cultivating major millets such as jowar, bajra and ragi, production has been volatile largely due to concerns over low productivity and profitability. Production of millets stood at 16.14 million tonnes in 2016-17, of which, minor millets such as foxtail and kodo millets was 4.5 lakh tonnes.

Karnataka’s initiative

Karnataka Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda’s efforts to promote millets in the drought-prone State by establishing a linkage between growers, organised in clusters, and consumers are beginning to make an impact.

In Telangana, the Deccan Development Society, which is working with about 5,000 small and marginal women farmers in Zaheerabad, has witnessed a revival of traditional seed banks. “Each one of them own at least a tiny piece of land. None of them grows less than 10 crops, mostly millets, on every single acre of their farm. Some of them even grow 25 crop varieties per acre,” says PV Satheesh, Director, DDS.

Village-level ‘sanghams’ maintain seed banks as they help women members plan their crops for the year.
Marketing challenges

A collective, or cluster marketing approach, is seen helping growers, while individual farmers are facing issues in selling their produce. “The prices are very low in the APMC mandis. People are asking for ₹1,500-1,800 per quintal for the foxtail millet that I have grown for the first time, while I should get at least ₹3,500-4,000 per quintal,” says Ram Reddy, a farmer at Baippanahalli near Kolar. So is the case of Muni Reddy, another farmer in the same village, who has grown 25 bags of foxtail millet. “We are waiting for a better price,” says Reddy.

“There is a need to promote the production of more millets by providing a price support to farmers as there’s not only a social dimension, but also nutritional and environmental aspect associated with these cereals. Promoting millets could help governments save expenditure on health and nutrition,” says T N Prakash Kammaradi, Chairman, Karnataka Agriculture Prices Commission. While jowar, ragi and bajra, among others, are already under the ambit of the minimum support price (MSP), Prakash sees a scope for including more grains such as foxtail millet.

From PDS to supermarkets

Various States have been distributing millets such as bajra, jowar and ragi through the public distribution system (PDS), along with other cereals such as rice and wheat. Efforts are now being done to include the nutrient-rich smaller millets in the mid-day meal schemes in government and government-aided schools in Karnataka and Telangana.

Innovation in products made out of millets right from baby foods, breakfast cereals to bakery products, desserts, ice cream and even liquor, is fuelling consumption. Millet-based brews, which were common in the North-East, have now found their way into urban centres, where breweries are trying various grains such as ragi to kraft beers.

Corporates and start-ups

Companies, on their part, are trying to ride this emerging trend. Large players of packaged staples and processed food manufacturers, such as ITC and Britannia, among others, and a host of start-ups, have already introduced millets in their product-mix.

IIMR, which has developed an exclusive brand for millets – Eatrite – has now started an incubator at its Hyderabad campus to promote start-ups working on ‘convenient’ millet foods. “We are planning to take 10-11 start-ups on board in the first year. We will provide them mentorship and access to the processing technologies and other infrastructure to work on their product ideas,” B Dayakar Rao, a senior IIMR scientist and Chief Executive Officer of NIELAN (Nurturing Incubation Entrepreneurship with Leverage of Agri-Innovation in Nutri-Cereals). Eatrite brand of millet products, worth ₹50 lakh, are sold in cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi. Surely, the millet bandwagon is rolling along.

Inputs from KV Kurmanath, Shobha Roy,
TV Jayan and Rutam Vora

Source :https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/specials/india-file/from-green-revolution-to-millet-revolution/article23356997.ece

Experts urge Centre to launch national millet mission soon

CHENNAI: The three-day dialogue on ‘millets, monsoon and market’, organised by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), ended on Tuesday with experts urging the central government to launch a “national millet mission” immediately. “If executed well, it will create an enabling environment for multi-sector stakeholders to share experiences, and become a platform of cross-learning opportunities,” said Stefano Padulosi, senior scientist from Bioversity International, Rome. Speaking on ‘voicing on millets, policy discussion’ in a round-table discussion of global champions, Padulosi said an effective national millet mission is essential for India, where climatic changes badly affect agriculture.

However, Vilas Tonapi, director of Indian Institute of Millets Research, said the Centre is working to launch a millet policy. “The future of policy for millets has included all departments such as Integrated Child Development Services, Mid Day Meal scheme, Public distribution system and farmer communities while drafting the strategy,” he said.

MS Swaminathan, founder chairman of MSSRF, said revitalizing the ‘climate smart cereals’ should be high priority for the government to address nutrition insecurity

Experts, however, flagged issues related to production, procurement, processing, marketing and consumption of millet in India while drawing from global success stories like the quinoa (a flowering plant in the amaranth family), and many initiatives for ragi and foxtail millet already in progress in India.

Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/experts-urge-centre-to-launch-national-millet-mission-soon/articleshow/63806292.cms

‘Raised support price to boost farmers’ income’

PATNA: Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi said a substantial increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of Kharif crops like paddy, maize, and pulses as announced by the Centre on Wednesday would help increase the income of farmers in a big way.

It would benefit over 3 lakh paddy cultivators who had registered with the Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACSs) during 2016-17 and several others, Modi said while putting across the party’s view in the presence of state president Nityanand Rai and senior ministers Nand Kishore Yadav, Prem Kumar and Vinod Narayan Jha.

“The state government has been procuring paddy from the farmers every year during November-March. However, this year, a beginning was also made to procure pulses like ‘chana’ and ‘masur’ from farmers, but not on a large scale. Now, a sound mechanism would be put in place to procure pulses from the farmers from the harvest season next year,” he said.

Maize has emerged as a major cash crop in north Bihar with those grown in Khagaria, Bhagalpur and Katihar among others even gaining a name in the international export market for quality. It is not procured by the state government and its domestic sale prices plummeted below the MSP this year because of low demand in the export market, sources said.

Following are today’s pulses’ rates (in Rs per quintal): Urad Rs 3,550-4,650, Urad Chilka (local) Rs 4,100-4,200, Urad best Rs 4,200-4,700, Dhoya Rs 4,600-4,800, Moong Rs 4,950-5,450, Dal Moong Chilka local Rs 5,500-5,700, Moong Dhoya local Rs 6,100-6,600 and best quality Rs 6,600-6,800.

The Centre on Wednesday increased the MSP of general paddy by Rs200 per quintal to Rs1,750 per quintal and that of the Grade-A paddy from Rs1,590 to Rs1,770 per quintal.

Similarly, the MSP of maize was increased from Rs1,425 per quintal to Rs1,700 and that of ‘moong’ from Rs5,575 per quintal to Rs6,975 per quintal. Interestingly, the ‘chana’ and ‘masur’ variety of pulses cultivated in the state did not figure in the list.

Of the Kharif crops, the paddy procurement is done from November to February-March by 8,463 PACSs of the cooperative department. The farmers of the ‘tal’ area — saucer-shaped low-lying area famous for the cultivation of wheat and pulses — of Patna, Nalanda and Lakhisarai districts had staged protests demanding procurement of ‘chana’ and ‘masur’ cultivated by them.

Source :https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/raised-support-price-to-boost-farmers-income/articleshow/64860070.cms

Peas rise on retailers’ demand

New Delhi, Jul 7 Barring a rise in peas prices on mild demand from retailers, other pulses held steady at the wholesale pulses market today.

Marketmen said scattered demand from retailers against restricted supplies from producing regions, mainly led to rise in peas prices.

In the national capital, peas white and green rose by Rs 50 each to Rs 3,550-3,600 and Rs 3,650-3,750 per quintal, respectively.

Following are today’s rates (in Rs per quintal): urad Rs 3,800-5,100, urad Chilka (local)

On the other hand, arhar and its dal dara variety drifted lower by Rs 50 and Rs 100 to Rs 3,850 and Rs 5,200-7,100 per quintal, respectively.

Rs 4,550-4,650, urad best Rs 4,650-5,150, Dhoya Rs 5,100-5,300, Moong Rs 5,050-5,550, Dal Moong Chilka local Rs 5,700-5,900, Moong Dhoya local Rs 6,300-6,800 and best quality Rs 6,800-7,000.

Masoor small Rs 3,600-4,000, bold Rs 3,750-4,050, Dal Masoor local Rs 4,200-4,600, best quality Rs 4,300-4,700, Malka local Rs 4,050-4,350, best Rs 4,150-4,450, Moth Rs 3,500-3,900, Arhar Rs 3,850 Dal Arhar Dara Rs 5,300-7,200.

Gram Rs 3,850-3,900, Gram dal (local) Rs 4,000-4,400, best quality Rs 4,400-4,500, Besan (35 kg), Shakti bhog Rs 1,840, Rajdhani Rs 1,840, Rajma Chitra Rs 6,100-8,300, Kabuli Gram small Rs 4,550-5,350, Dabra Rs 2,700-2,800, imported Rs 4,700-5,100, Lobia Rs 3,400-3,600, Peas white Rs 3,550-3,600 and green Rs 3,650-3,750.

Source : https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/peas-rise-on-retailers-demand/1345039

Select pulses rise on stockists’ buying

New Delhi, Jun 18 Select pulses led by masoor rose by up to Rs 200 per quintal at the wholesale pulses market today on emergence of stockists’ buying following uptick in demand from dal mills and retailers.

Traders’ buying driven by pick up in demand from dal mills and retailers against restricted supplies from producing belts mainly pushed up masoor and other pulses prices.

In the national capital, masoor small and bold edged up to Rs 3,500-3,750 and Rs 3,650-3,800 from previous levels of Rs 3,400-3,600 and Rs 3,550-3,650 per quintal, respectively. Its dal local and best quality traded higher by Rs 200 each to Rs 3,800-4,200 and Rs 3,900-4,300 per quintal, respectively.

Gram also inched up to Rs 3,700-3,750 from previous level of Rs 3,650-3,750 per quintal. Its dal local and best quality were up by Rs 100 each to Rs 3,700-4,100 and Rs 4,100-4,200 per quintal, respectively.

Urad and its dal chilka,too, rose by Rs 50 and Rs 100 to Rs 3,550-4,650 and Rs 4,100-4,200 per quintal. Its dal best quality and dhoya enquired higher by Rs 100 each to Rs 4,200-4,700 and Rs 4,600-4,800 per quintal, respectively.

Following are today’s pulses’ rates (in Rs per quintal): Urad Rs 3,550-4,650, Urad Chilka (local) Rs 4,100-4,200, Urad best Rs 4,200-4,700, Dhoya Rs 4,600-4,800, Moong Rs 4,950-5,450, Dal Moong Chilka local Rs 5,500-5,700, Moong Dhoya local Rs 6,100-6,600 and best quality Rs 6,600-6,800.

Masoor small Rs 3,500-3,750, bold Rs 3,650-3,800, Dal Masoor local Rs 3,800-4,200, best quality Rs 3,900-4,300, Malka local Rs 4,000-4,200, best Rs 4,100-4,400, Moth Rs 3,500-3,900, Arhar Rs 3,800 Dal Arhar Dara Rs 5,100-7,000.

Gram Rs 3,700-3,750, Gram dal (local) Rs 3,700-4,100, best quality Rs 4,100-4,200, Besan (35 kg), Shakti bhog Rs 1,820, Rajdhani Rs 1,820, Rajma Chitra Rs 5,800-8,000, Kabuli Gram small Rs 3,800-4,800, Dabra Rs 2,700-2,800, imported Rs 4,700-5,100, Lobia Rs 3,400-3,600, Peas white Rs 3,400-3,450 and green Rs 3,500-3,600.

Source :https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/select-pulses-rise-on-stockists-buying/1332041

Gram, its dal move up in mixed trend

New Delhi, Jun 14 () In a mixed pattern of trading, gram and its dal prices edged up by up to Rs 100 per quintal at the wholesale pulses market in the national capital today on scattered demand from dal mills.

However, arhar and masoor ended lower on lack of buying support against adequate stocks position.

Traders said, mild demand from dal mills against restricted arrivals from producing belts kept dal prices up.

In the national capital, gram inched up by Rs 50 to Rs 3,600-3,700, while its dal local and best quality gained Rs 100 each to Rs 3,500-3,900 and Rs 3,900-4,000 per quintal, respectively. Besan Shakti bhog and Rajdhani quoted higher at Rs 1,820 each instead of Rs 1,800 each per 35 kg bag.

On the other hand, arhar and its dal dara variety drifted lower by Rs 50 and Rs 100 to Rs 3,850 and Rs 5,200-7,100 per quintal, respectively.

Masoor small and bold also shed Rs 50 each at Rs 3,400-3,600 and Rs 3,550-3,650 per quintal. Its dal local and best quality traded lower by Rs 100 each to Rs 3,600-4,000 and Rs 3,700-4,100 per quintal, respectively.

Following are today’s pulses’ rates (in Rs per quintal): Urad Rs 3,500-4,600, Urad Chilka (local) Rs 4,000-4,100, Urad best Rs 4,100-4,600, Dhoya Rs 4,500-4,700, Moong Rs 4,950-5,450, Dal Moong Chilka local Rs 5,500-5,700, Moong Dhoya local Rs 6,100-6,600 and best quality Rs 6,600-6,800.

Masoor small Rs 3,400-3,600, bold Rs 3,550-3,650, Dal Masoor local Rs 3,600-4,000, best quality Rs 3,700-4,100, Malka local Rs 4,000-4,200, best Rs 4,100-4,400, Moth Rs 3,500-3,900, Arhar Rs 3,850 Dal Arhar Dara Rs 5,200-7,100.

Gram Rs 3,600-3,700, Gram dal (local) Rs 3,500-3,900, best quality Rs 3,900-4,000, Besan (35 kg), Shakti bhog Rs 1,820, Rajdhani Rs 1,820, Rajma Chitra Rs 5,750-7,750, Kabuli Gram small Rs 3,800-4,800, Dabra Rs 2,700-2,800, Imported Rs 4,700-5,100, Lobia Rs 3,400-3,600, Peas white Rs 3,400-3,450 and green Rs 3,500-3,600. SUN KPS SHW ANS ANS

Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/gram-its-dal-move-up-in-mixed-trend/articleshow/64585959.cms

Chana futures rise 0.28% as demand picks up

Amid uptick in demand at the domestic spot market and restricted arrivals from producing belts, chana prices edged higher by 0.28 per cent to Rs 3,621 per quintal in futures trade today as speculators created fresh positions.

At the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, chana for delivery in June was trading higher by Rs 10, or 0.28 per cent, to Rs 3,621 per quintal with an open interest of 97,910 lots.

On similar lines, the commodity for delivery in July contracts was trading higher by Rs 9, or 0.25 per cent, at Rs 3,652 per quintal in 37,610 lots.

Analysts attributed the rise in chana prices to fresh positions built up by traders, driven by pick up in demand in the spot market, against restricted supplies from growing regions.

Source :https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/chana-futures-rise-0-28-as-demand-picks-up-118052900311_1.html

Pulses import falls by 1million tonnes in FY18

NEW DELHI: The agriculture ministry on Wednesday said that farmer-friendly policy measures have helped reduce import of pulses, wheat, and edible oils.

Import of pulses declined by 10 lakh tonnes from FY17 to 56.5 lakh tonnes in 2017-18, resulting in saving of foreign exchange amounting to Rs 9,775 crore, the ministry said in a statement.

As per the government’s third advance estimate, output of pulses — largely gram, urad and tur — is projected at 24.51 million tonnes in 2017-18 as a result of significant increase in the area coverage and productivity of all major pulses. In 2016-17, production of pulses was pegged at 23.13 million tonnes. To check rise in price of pulses, the Centre has been taking steps to boost their output.

India is the biggest producer, importer (4-6mt) and consumer (26-27 million tonnes) of pulses in the world. To ensure that farmers get remunerative prices, the government has imposed import duty and put quantitative restrictions on the various varieties of pulses.

Import duty on chickpeas has been fixed at 60%, while that for yellow peas is 50%, 30% for lentils and 10% for tur.

The government has also imposed a quantitative cap of 2 lakh tonnes per year on tur dal and 3 lakh tonnes on urad and moong.

In case of peas, import of 1 lakh tonne is allowed for three months till June this year.

“Exports of all pulses have been allowed from November 22, 2017.

Incentive at 7% under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme has been sanctioned for export of chana,” it said.

Source : https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/pulses-import-falls-by-1million-tonnes-in-fy18/articleshow/64199795.cms

Select pulses up on good demand

Select pulses rose by up to Rs 100 per quintal at the wholesale pulses market today due to pick up in demand from retailers and dal mills.

Traders said besides upsurge in demand from retailers and dal mills, fall in supplies from producing regions mainly pushed up select pulses prices.

In the national capital, arhar and its dal dara variety went up by Rs 50 and Rs 100 to Rs 4,100 and Rs 5,700-7,600 per quintal, respectively.

Masoor small and bold also edged up by Rs 50 each to Rs 3,550-3,750 and Rs 3,700-3,800 per quintal, espectively. Its dal local and best quality traded higher by Rs 100 each to Rs 3,900-4,300 and Rs 4,000-4,400 per quintal.
Malka local and best too seen in retailers demand and edged higher by Rs 50 each to Rs 4,000-4,200 and Rs 4,100-4,400 per quintal respectively.

Following are today’s pulses’ rates (in Rs per quintal): Urad Rs 3,650-4,850, Urad Chilka (local) Rs 4,200-4,300,Urad best Rs 4,300-4,800, Dhoya Rs 4,700-4,900, Moong Rs 5,000-5,500, Dal Moong Chilka local Rs 5,600-5,800, Moong Dhoya local Rs 6,200-6,700 and best quality Rs 6,700-6,900.

Masoor small Rs 3,550-3,750, bold Rs 3,700-3,800, Dal Masoor local Rs 3,900-4,300, best quality Rs 4,000-4,400, Malka local Rs 4,000-4,200, best Rs 4,100-4,400, Moth Rs 3,600-4,000, Arhar Rs 4,100 Dal Arhar Dara Rs 5,700-7,600.

Gram Rs 3,750-3,850, Gram dal (local) Rs 3,800-4,200,

best quality Rs 4,200-4,300, Besan (35 kg), Shakti bhog Rs 1,800, Rajdhani Rs 1,800, Rajma Chitra Rs 5,900-7,900, Kabuli Gram small Rs 4,000-5,000, Dabra Rs 2,700-2,800, Imported Rs 4,700-5,100, LobiaRs 3,400-3,600, Peas white Rs 3,200-3,250 and green Rs 3,350-3,450.

Source :http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/select-pulses-up-on-good-demand-118051500563_1.html

Commerce ministry invites bids for pulses imports

The commerce ministry today invited applications from millers and refiners of pulses for import of a certain amount of pigeon pea, urad and moong dal for the current fiscal.

“Application process for import of 2 lakh tonnes of pigeon peas/toor dal and 1.5 lakh tonnes for urad and 1.5 lakh tonnes for moong is laid down,” the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a trade notice.

It said that the applications will be received between May 12 and May 25 this year.

“The allocation of quota to each applicant shall be notified on June 1…The total available quota for each category will be distributed equally or the applied quantity, whichever is lower, amongst eligible millers/refiners,” it said.

The quota, however, will be issued with the condition that importers will complete their imports by August 31 this year.

Further, it said that license holders would have to submit statements indicating the actual arrival of shipments at the Indian ports.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Source : http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/commerce-ministry-invites-bids-for-pulses-imports-118051101250_1.html

India’s curbs on import of pulses: US, Australia, EU raise concerns at WTO

A commerce ministry official says India defended the restrictions on import of pulses as they are compliant with WTO rules

New Delhi: Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) including the US, Canada, Australia, European Union and Japan have raised concern over India’s quantitative restrictions on import of pulses.

India capped imports of green gram (moong) and black matpe (urad) at 300,000 tonnes and that of pigeon peas (arhar) at 200,000 tonnes in August in the wake of domestic harvest and concerns over the slump in prices of traditional pulses.

The issue came up in a 20 April meeting of the committee on import licensing at the WTO with countries alleging that quantitative restrictions by India on import of pulses distort global prices and put the future of farmers across many countries in peril. India has been the largest producer, as well as traditionally the largest importer of pulses to ensure steady supply of the protein-rich diet to its citizens.

A commerce ministry official speaking under condition of anonymity said India defended the import restrictions as they are compliant with WTO rules. “However, India promised to notify the quota allocations and procedures for 2018 and 2019 soon for the benefit of other countries,” the official said.

India’s agriculture ministry has projected that production of pulses would touch a record 24 million tonnes in 2017-18, up from 23 million tonnes the year before.

While WTO mandates elimination of quantitative restrictions covering all import- and export-related measures, exceptions are allowed under specific circumstances such as to safeguard the balance of payments, to protect an industry at an early stage of development or to prevent sudden increases in imports.

India’s decisions in November to raise import duties on pulses by up to 50% and put stringent fumigation requirements have also irked pulse exporting countries. Canada even raised the matter bilaterally during the visit of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to India in April.

Canada used to supply pulses of around $1 billion to India every year. India gave less time to Canada to comply with the new fumigation norms compared to the US and Australia, prompting complaints of discrimination.

“We are extremely concerned over India’s increase in duties by 50% of all imported peas without providing any advance notice. The Prime Minister will undoubtedly be raising it at the first opportunity he gets,” Canadian agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay told the House of Commons in November after India’s decision.

A joint statement issued after the meeting between Trudeau and Modi in February this year promised to finalize “mutually acceptable technological protocols” within 2018 to enable the export of Canadian pulses to India free from pests of quarantine importance.

Source :https://www.livemint.com/Politics/WH8ApBkmBV6g5CAl5nQ77K/Indias-curbs-on-import-of-pulses-US-Australia-EU-raise-c.html

Centre restricts import of yellow peas for 3 months

The Commerce Ministry has amended the import policy of Yellow Peas (Pisum sativum) putting it on the restricted list through a notification on April 25, 2018.

Peas import, previously on the free list, has now been restricted for three months from April 1, 2018 to June 30, 2018.

During this period, a maximum of one lakh tonne is allowed including the quantity already imported in April so far.

This means the quantity that has arrived as of the date of notification and shipments backed by irrevocable commercial letters of credit and advance payment made through banks before this date are exempted, the notification said.

With this, yellow peas — on which the Centre had levied 50 per cent import duty last year — joins the list of pulses put on the restricted list since August 2017 in a bid to arrest declining prices of pulses.

Previously, in separate notifications it restricted tur (pigeon pea), urad (black matpe) and moong (green moong).

Source : https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/centre-restricts-import-of-yellow-peas-for-3-months/article23701158.ece

India’s pulses exports rise by 18 per cent during Apr 17- Feb18

13 April 2018, 10:00AM

Outward-bound shipments of pulses from India rose by 18 per cent in volume during the April-February 2017-18 period to around 1.34 lakh tonnes against the corresponding previous year’s 1.13 lakh tonnes, as per provisional data released by the Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA).

Exports of pulses are beginning to look up after the government removed curbs on overseas shipments last November, after almost a decade. However, traders feel that Indian exporters may have to work hard to regain lost market share amid a global surplus.

Shipments for the period in terms of value were up by 15 per cent at $183 million against $158 million in the corresponding period last year. The export volumes are very low compared to the estimated production of 23.95 million tonnes.

Exports are unlikely to help stabilise domestic prices in the near term, as there is surplus supply in both domestic and international markets. Pulses such as chana dal and moong dal are being shipped, apart from kabuli chana.

Source :https://www.indoasiancommodities.com/2018/04/18/indias-pulses-exports-rise-18-per-cent-apr-17-feb18/

As procurement deadline nears, tur growers in Maharashtra stare at Rs 1,067-crore loss

Tur growers in Maharashtra are staring at a cumulative loss of Rs 1,067 crore as the commodity is trading well below the government-mandated Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 5,400. Government procurement at the 180 centres is about to end on April 18 and growers in Maharashtra have little hope of price recovery towards the end of the season.

Tur had grabbed headlines in 2016 when prices of the lentil had crossed the Rs 6,000 per quintal-mark at Latur’s Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC). Continuous drought in the main tur growing region of Marthwada has escalated the prices. However, given the bumper crop in 2016-17, prices of the commodity had all but crashed. Despite a record procurement of over 7 lakh tonnes last year, prices had remained below the MSP level. Also, for the kharif season, prices started below the MSP levels as the old stock still remains unutilsed.

Forecasts by the state agriculture department had put the production of tur at 9.83 lakh tonnes (lt), of which NAFED was to procure around 4.5 lt under its Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) scheme. Till Tuesday, the state has procured a little over 1.62 lt of tur from 1.33 lakh farmers. Tur, being a kharif crop, is normally harvested after October with farmers preferring to hold up their produce for better prices for a few months before offloading the same.

The normal average price tur fetched in most of the markets was around Rs 4,250 per quintal. Thus, farmers got Rs 1,150 lesser than the MSP. The cumulative loss to farmers in the state, therefore, works out to be Rs 1,067 crores. With NAFED’s procurement deadline ending on April 18, chances of any price increase are dim. Sources in the department of marketing said they were optimistic that the deadline for procurement would be extended. “We have written for an extension of 1.5 month to meet our targets,” said the official.

The Maharashtra State Cooperative Marketing Federation has around 2.2 lakh tonnes of tur in its warehouses. Tenders have been floated to mill the whole tur and convert it into tur daal, which the government hopes to sell through public distribution systems. Given the huge stock, trade sources have ruled out any price correction in the next few months.

Ajit Navale of the All India Kisan Sabha has attributed the loss to “lack of proper planning”. “Farmers will be discouraged to grow tur the next season and its long-term effects will be faced in the retail markets too,” he said.

Source : http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/as-procurement-deadline-nears-tur-growers-in-maharashtra-stare-at-rs-1067-crore-loss/

Pulses remain steady in thin trade

13 April 2018, 10:00AM

New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI) There was not much activity at the wholesale pulses market today with prices moving in a narrow range in scattered deals and settling at previous levels.
Traders said ample stocks position against sporadic demand mainly kept pulses prices unaltered.

Following are today’s pulses’ rates (in Rs per quintal): Urad Rs 3,850-5,150, Urad Chilka (local) Rs 4,700-4,800,Urad best Rs 4,800-5,300, Dhoya Rs 5,200-5,400, Moong Rs 4,800-5,500, Dal Moong Chilka local Rs 5,600-5,800, Moong Dhoya local Rs 6,200-6,700 and best quality Rs 6,700-6,900.

Masoor small Rs 3,550-3,700, bold Rs 3,650-3,800, Dal Masoor local Rs 3,900-4,300, best quality Rs 4,000-4,400, Malka local Rs 3,950-4,150, best Rs 4,050-4,350, Moth Rs 3,600-4,000, Arhar Rs 4,250 Dal Arhar Dara Rs 6,000-7,900.

Gram Rs 3,900-4,000, Gram dal (local) Rs 4,000-4,400, best quality Rs 4,400-4,500, Besan (35 kg), Shakti bhog Rs 1,900, Rajdhani Rs 1,900, Rajma Chitra Rs 6,200-8,200, Kabuli Gram small Rs 4,900-5,900, Dabra Rs 2,700-2,800, Imported Rs 4,700-5,100, Lobia Rs 3,400-3,600, Peas white Rs 3,025-3,050 and green Rs 3,125-3,225.

This is published unedited from the PTI feed.

Source :http://www.india.com/news/agencies/pulses-remain-steady-in-thin-trade-2-2987016/

Select pulses strengthen on rising demand

New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) Prices of select pulses, led by kabuli gram, advanced by up to Rs 100 per quintal at the wholesale pulses market today on increased offtake by stockists backed by rising demand from dal mills and retailers.

Traders said increased buying by stockists, driven by surging demand from dal mills and retailers against restricted arrivals from producing belts mainly led to a rise in prices of kabuli gram and other pulses.

In the national capital, kabuli gram small variety shot up by Rs 100 to Rs 4,600-5,600 per quintal.

Gram also edged higher by Rs 50 to Rs 3,800-3,900, while its dal local and best quality traded higher by Rs 100 each to Rs 3,800-4,200 and Rs 4,200-4,300 per quintal, respectively.

Masoor small and bold inched up by Rs 50 each to Rs 3,400-3,550 and Rs 3,500-3,650 per quintal. Its dal local and best quality followed suit and enquired higher by Rs 100 each to Rs 3,600-4,000 and Rs 3,700-4,100 per quintal.

Malka local and best quality too advanced by Rs 50 each to Rs 3,950-4,150 and Rs 4,050-4,350 per quintal.

Following are today’s pulses’ rates (in Rs per quintal): Urad Rs 3,750-5,050, Urad Chilka (local) Rs 4,600-4,700, Urad best Rs 4,700-5,200, Dhoya Rs 5,100-5,300, Moong Rs 4,600-5,300, Dal Moong Chilka local Rs 5,400-5,600, Moong Dhoya local Rs 6,000-6,500 and best quality Rs 6,500-6,700.

Masoor small Rs 3,400-3,550, bold Rs 3,500-3,650, Dal Masoor local Rs 3,600-4,000, best quality Rs 3,700-4,100, Malka local Rs 3,950-4,150, best Rs 4,050-4,350, Moth Rs 3,500-3,900, Arhar Rs 4,150 Dal Arhar Dara Rs 5,800-7,700.

Gram Rs 3,800-3,900, Gram dal (local) Rs 3,800-4,200, best quality Rs 4,200-4,300, Besan (35 kg), Shakti bhog Rs 1,900, Rajdhani Rs 1,900, Rajma Chitra Rs 6,000-8,000, Kabuli Gram small Rs 4,600-5,600, Dabra Rs 2,700-2,800, Imported Rs 4,700-5,100, Lobia Rs 3,400-3,600, Peas white Rs 2,825-2,850 and green Rs 2,925-3,025.

Source : http://www.india.com/news/agencies/select-pulses-strengthen-on-rising-demand-2-2966278/

Kabuli Chana import duty increases up to 60%

27 March 2018, 10:00AM

To restrict imports and aid proper remuneration to local farmers who cultivate Kabuli Chana, the government raised import duty on it to 60 percent from 40 percent.

All India Dal Mills Association president said, “Imports were killing the local farmers, who were not able to sell their produce due to cheaper imports, and they are not even getting the minimum support price for their produce due to large amount of imported Chana coming into the country from Australia and Canada”.

Madhya Pradesh is the leading producer of pulses in the country with a share of 35-40 percent in the total production. Due to higher production estimate of Chana this year, prices have fallen to Rs 35 per kg as against Rs 55 per kg about three months ago.

Farmers have shifted from wheat to Chana this year expecting better prices. According to the statistics from the agriculture department, farmers have sown wheat on over 5.75 lakh hectare while Chana has been sown on 4.75 lakh hectare.

Source :https://www.commodityonline.com/commodity-news/kabuli-chana-import-duty-increases-up-to-60/news-now/19772

Pulses traders demand ban on import quota in 2018-19

PUNE:With prices of most pulses ruling below the minimum support price levels, processors and traders have demanded the government to stop even the restricted imports by end of March. India has imposed a quota of 5 million tonnes on annual import of pulses, which if not terminated, will add to the already mounting stocks in the country.

“We have requested the central government to immediately terminate the quota of 5 million tonne pulses import before the end of March,” said Suresh Aggarwal, a leading processor of pulses. A delegation of the industry representatives met Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday requesting him to not allow import of another 5 million tonne pulses beginning April, 2018.

Domestic prices of most pulses such as tur, moong and chana, which are being currently harvested, are ruling below the MSP levels, leading to continuing farmer unrest in the growing areas.

In August 2017, the government restricted import of tur, moong and urad. The free import of tur, moong and urad has been restricted by imposing quota of 2 million tonne import on tur and 3 million tonne on moong and urad taken together.

Export of pulses, which was not allowed for more than a decade, was also freed up last year. However, both measures did not help much to support domestic prices.

According to government estimates, India imported 4.7 million tonnes of pulses between April 2017 and November 2017, which is 71% of what the country had imported during 2016-17 fiscal, and 80.8% of what it had imported in 2015-16 fiscal.

Source : https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/pulses-traders-demand-ban-on-import-quota-in-2018-19/articleshow/63284043.cms


Pigeon Pea Market Analysis, Share And Size, Trends, Industry Growth And Segment Forecasts To 2022

13 March 2018, 6:00PM

Pigeon Pea Market report provides key statistics on the market status of the Pigeon Pea Manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the Pigeon Pea Industry. The Pigeon Pea industry report firstly announced the Pigeon Pea Market fundamentals: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on.

On the basis on the end users/applications, Pigeon Pea market report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, including –Application 1, Application 2, Application 3

Along with Pigeon Pea Market research analysis, buyer also gets valuable information about global Pigeon Pea Production and its market share, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin, Supply, Consumption, Export, Import volume and values for following Regions- (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).

Chris Chivilo, president and CEO of Canadian Pulse Processor W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions, released a statement through Pulse Canada’s website. He participated in the CEO panel at the Prime Minister’s Round Table.

Some of major points covered in TOC:
Introduction of Pigeon Pea Market: Brief Introduction, development status of Pigeon Pea.

Manufacturing Technology of Pigeon Pea: Development, Analysis, Trends of Pigeon Pea

Analysis of Global Key Manufacturers: Company, Company Profile, Product Information, Production Information, Contact Information

2012-2017 Global and Chinese Market of Pigeon Pea: Global Capacity, Production and Production Value of Pigeon Pea Market, Cost and Profit, Market Comparison, Supply and Consumption, Import and Export.

Market Status of Pigeon Pea Industry: Market Competition by Company, Pigeon Pea Market Competition by Country (USA, EU, Japan, Chinese etc.), Market Analysis of Pigeon Pea Consumption by Application/Type

2017-2022 Market Forecast of Global and Chinese Pigeon Pea Market: Capacity, Production, and Production Value, Cost and Profit Estimation, Market Share, Supply and Consumption, Import and Export

Analysis of Pigeon Pea Market Chain: Industry Chain Structure, Upstream Raw Materials, Downstream Industry

Market Dynamics of Pigeon Pea Industry: Industry News, Development Challenges & Opportunities

Proposals for New Project: Market Entry Strategies, Countermeasures of Economic Impact, Marketing Channels, Feasibility Studies of New Project Investment

In the end, Pigeon Pea Market report provides the main region, market conditions with the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. Pigeon Pea Market report also Present new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.

Source :https://factsweek.com/254461/pigeon-pea-market-analysis-share-and-size-trends-industry-growth-and-segment-forecasts-to-2022/


Government to save Rs 1,600 crore a year in foodgrain procurement post GST

Pressured by the domestic market conditions — large harvests, low prices over the last one year — the Centre recently lifted the prohibition on export of all varieties of pulses. A blanket ban on pulses export was imposed over ten years ago in 2007 as a knee-jerk reaction to rising domestic prices then.

In response to trade representation, one variety, Kabuli chickpea, was exempted from the ban. In recent years, Kabuli chickpea shipments averaged around two lakh tonnes (lt). Prior to total ban, India used to export respectable quantities of pulses — mainly masur (lentil) and to a less extent tur/arhar (pigeon pea), urad (black matpe) and moong (green gram).

Indian pulses were quite popular in overseas markets, especially in countries with large expatriate Indian population.

A tough fight

With India out of reckoning for ten long years, new origins have entered the world market with aggressive export plans. Myanmar and East African nations are relatively new entrants to the pulses export market and their volumes started to increase with expansion of India’s import needs. Now, it is not going to be a cakewalk for Indian pulses in the overseas markets. There is already fierce competition among various supplying countries: Canada, Australia, Russia, Ukraine, the US and others to garner a larger share of the limited export pie , especially after India imposed import restrictions. No wonder, export offer prices are dropping by the day.

Admittedly, India will find it tough to re-enter the market after a long hiatus as it will be bogged down by credibility issue. Indeed, there is a loss of confidence about the stability of the country’s trade policies. Reliability of steady supplies is in doubt.

Export surplus

Another question that arises is whether India has genuine export surplus. Despite two back-to-back bumper harvests, the country is surely not self-sufficient yet. Yet, opening up pulse export makes eminent commercial sense. While allowing import is a consumer-friendly step, any restriction on export would be anti-farmer.First, it is necessary to gain the confidence of overseas buyers. So, a commitment not to restrict export must be made by the government.

Boosting export trade

The Commerce Ministry wants farm exports to rise from the present $30 billion to $100 billion in the coming years. Pulses can make a small contribution. Dal exports have some prospects as Indian cuisine is becoming popular around the world. Dal export will also help improve capacity utilisation of dal mills and lend stability to domestic prices. Given the present supplies, price and market conditions, India can hope to export about five lakh tonnes of various varieties of dal. This calls for a strategic approach to export promotion.

Trade pacts

Importantly, we must leverage our bilateral and free trade agreements with South Asia and South-East Asia. For instance, Bangladesh imports about 12-15 lakh tons of pulses, while Sri Lanka imports roughly three lakh tons. We have SAFTA, APTA, ASEAN and other agreements involving many countries.

The Commerce Ministry must set off a dialogue with trade partners in the region and persuade them to import from India. Of course, over a period of time, India must generate genuine export surplus.

The writer is a global agri-business and commodities market specialist. Views are personal.

Source : https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/commodities/will-india-capture-the-pulse-of-export-market/article22881015.ece


Canada and India reach agreement on pulse exports

4 Feb 2018, 6:00PM

Saskatchewan pulse growers have received some good news from the Prime Minister’s office.

TPrime Minister Justin Trudeau and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a joint statement Friday, committing to work closely to finalize an arrangement within 2018 to enable the export of Canadian pulses to India free from pests of quarantine importance, with mutually acceptable technological protocols.

Trudeau left his state visit to India Friday, which beagn on Feb. 18.

Chris Chivilo, president and CEO of Canadian Pulse Processor W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions, released a statement through Pulse Canada’s website. He participated in the CEO panel at the Prime Minister’s Round Table.

“The joint statement issued after the meeting I attended is an important milestone in pulse trade relations between Canada and India. The Prime Ministers have recognized the importance of food security and science-based approaches to plant protection policy. We will need to continue this collaboration and finalize solutions that will work for both Canada and India,” he said.

The announcement regarding fumigation should please the Saskatchewan Stock Growers. Executive Directive Carl Potts told paNOW earlier this week he wanted to see Canada receive an exemption from India’s rule which requires all countries fumigate their shipments. He said Canada does not have the pests of concern that India is concerned with, and the fumigation process does not work well in cold weather.

However, one notable omission from the statement was India’s import tariffs on peas, lentils and chickpeas. Potts has said producers were blindsided when the tariffs were imposed in November. Saskatchewan is Canada’s largest pulse producing province, churning out about 50 per cent of Canada’s peas and about 90 per cent of the country’s lentil and chickpea crops.

While there was no mention of the tariffs, the joint statement emphasized the importance of ensuring access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food for all and notes that transparency and predictability of market access conditions, including the sharing of information on the production of agricultural commodities, are key to advancing the food security goals of both countries.

Source :http://panow.com/article/742858/canada-and-india-reach-agreement-pulse-exports

Government to save Rs 1,600 crore a year in foodgrain procurement post GST

New Delhi, Feb 09, 2018, 05.38 PM IST

NEW DELHI: The Centre is estimated to save Rs 1,600 crore annually in procurement of foodgrains as its tax expenses have reduced after the introduction of GST, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today.

Only GST is being levied on procurement and not state taxes, resulting in 18 per cent reduction in taxes on foodgrain procurement, he said.

The government is expected to save Rs 1,600 crore annually, he added.

On capital restructuring in Food Corporation of India (FCI) as announced in the Union Budget 2018-19, Paswan said the government will infuse equity in the FCI next fiscal to reduce interest burden. FCI will also issue long term bonds.

FCI is the government’s nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains.

Asked about impact on inflation from proposed increase in the minimum support price (MSP) by 1.5 times, the minister said that there would be no impact on common man as the government is providing wheat and rice at Rs 2-3 per kg to over 80 crore people of the country.

Paswan informed that budget allocation for food ministry has been increased to Rs 2.24 lakh crore in 2018-19 from Rs 1.96 lakh crore in this fiscal. The food subsidy has been increased to Rs 1,73,323 crore from 1,44,781.69 crore in this financial year.

Paswan said the budget outlays for consumer affairs department is Rs 1,804.52 crore for next fiscal as against 3,733 crore this fiscal. This is because of reduction in price stabilisation fund to Rs 1,500 crore from Rs 3,500 crore.

“The food subsidy bill has been rising as MSP is being increased every year, while the issue (sale) price of foodgrains under food law has not been hiked,” he said.

The government has deleted 2.75 crore bogus ration cards which has helped in providing Rs 17,500 crore worth subsidy to eligible beneficiaries, he said.

Paswan said the government has linked over 80 per cent of ration cards with Aadhaar. Point of Sale (PoS) machines are being deployed in ration shops.

This will help food ministry to introduce portability of PDS under which beneficiaries can take their foodgrains quota from any ration shops in the states.

PDS portability has already been started in five states — Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi.

Source :https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/government-to-save-rs-1600-crore-a-year-in-foodgrain-procurement-post-gst/articleshow/62851961.cms

Mixed trend prevailed on the opening day

4 Feb 2018, 6:00PM

THE LONGEVITY of a rally in chickpea prices, primarily driven by a surge in demand from Pakistan, now hinges on the prospects of the Indian crop.

Chickpea prices have pushed up $100 a tonne in the past month to sit at around $650/t delivered upcountry along most of the east coast.

It was a welcome return of confidence to the sector, which saw prices dive to as low as $500/t in some instances and general pricing of $550/t on the back of the news of the Indian import tariff of 30 per cent.

Pulse Australia chairman Ron Storey said Pakistan had emerged as a strong buyer in the first weeks of 2018 due to a poor domestic crop.

He said they had also been opportunistic, identifying the current prices on offer as cheap within the overall price cycle of recent years.

“The prices may have rallied but they are still down on where they have been consistently over the past couple of years.”

However, he said while Pakistan was a focus at present, moving forward the perennial key to chickpea pricing, India, would return as the major factor for future price movements.

“The market will still be driven by India, at present people are starting to talk about the Indian season being very dry in parts.

“That could lead to the current tariff being reviewed earlier than expected.”

While there is good news for Australian producers from the subcontinent, Mr Storey said reports from the northern hemisphere press of a chickpea shortage were not accurate in this part of the world.

“There may well be localised shortages but there is nothing abnormal on a global scale.”

Source :http://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/story/5206405/pulse-focus-to-switch-to-indian-crop/?cs=4713

Rising demand lifts chana futures by 1.53%

New Delhi,31 January 2018 Last Updated at 12:55 IST

New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) Chana prices moved up by 1.53 per cent to Rs 3,847 per quintal in futures trade today as participants created positions, driven by rising demand from dal mills in the spot market.

Besides, tight stock positions following drop in arrivals from producing regions, fuelled the uptrend.

At the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, chana for delivery in March contracts was trading higher by Rs 58, or 1.53 per cent, at Rs 3,847 per quintal with an open interest of 88,790 lots.

Likewise, the commodity for delivery in April contracts gained Rs 56, or 1.46 per cent, to Rs 3,883 per quintal in 30,930 lots.

Analysts attributed the rise in chana prices to surging demand in the spot market against restricted supplies from producing regions. PTI DP SUN ANS MKJ

Source :https://www.indiatoday.in/pti-feed/story/rising-demand-lifts-chana-futures-by-1.53percent-1158100-2018-01-31

Mixed trend prevailed on the opening day

Chennai, January 8, 2018 11:44 AM IST

Prices of thoor dal and moong dal increased while urad dal and sugar price decreased, prices of rest of the commodities remained unchanged in the wholesale foodgrain market here today

Thoor dal was up by Rs.100 per quintal to Rs.7,200 from its closing rates Rs.7,100.

Moong dal price increased sharply by Rs.400 per quintal to Rs.7,300 from Rs.6,900.

Sugar was less by Rs.50 per quintal to Rs.3,650 from Rs.3,700.

Urad dal tanked to Rs.6,900 from its last rates of Rs.7,000.

Gram dal, wheat,maida(90 kg) and sooji (90 kg) ruled steady.

Following are the wholesale rates of various agri-commodities (rates in rupees per quintal, unless stated otherwise): Thoor Dal Rs 7,200, Urad Dal Rs 6,900, Moong Dal Rs 7,300, Gram Dal Rs 5,500, Sugar Rs 3,650, Wheat Rs 2,600, Maida (90 kg) Rs 2,400 and Sooji (90 kg) Rs 3,200.

With the growing demand of retailers, prices of peas are rising high

New Delhi, 03 January 2018 Last Updated at 2:26 pm

Other pulses held steady position at the wholesale pulses market, except peas where in a rise in prices can be seen due to the retailers’ demand. Taking an in-depth look into the national capital, peas green and white flew up by Rs 100 each to 2,800-2,900 & Rs 2,750-2,775 per quintal, respectively.

Latest rates of pulses (in Rs per quintal) are as follow:

Masoor small Rs 3,700-3,850, bold Rs 3,800-3,950, Dal Masoor local Rs 3,900-4,300, best quality Rs 4,000-4,400, Malka local Rs 4,200-4,400, best Rs 4,300-4,600, Moth Rs 3,500-3,900, Arhar Rs 4,200 Dal Arhar Dara Rs 6,000-7,900.

Urad Rs 4,000-5,600, Urad Chilka (local) Rs 5,000-5,100, Urad best Rs 5,100-5,600, Dhoya Rs 5,500-5,700, Moong Rs 4,800-5,500, Dal Moong Chilka local Rs 5,600-5,800, Moong Dhoya local Rs 6,200-6,700 and best quality Rs 6,700-6,900.

Gram Rs 4,300-4,850, Gram dal (local) Rs 4,900-5,300, best quality Rs 5,300-5,400, Besan (35 kg),Shakti bhog Rs 2,200, Rajdhani Rs 2,200, Rajma Chitra Rs 6,000-8,300, Kabuli Gram small Rs 7,400-8,400, Dabra Rs 2,700-2,800, Imported Rs 4,700-5,100, Lobia Rs 4,000-4,200, Peas white Rs 2,750-2,775and green Rs 2,800-2,900.

Source :https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/peas-move-up-on-retailers-demand/1221878

Chana futures rise by 2.81% due to its rising demand

New Delhi, 03 January 2018 Last Updated at 12:41 pm

Chana prices in nation moved up by 2.81% making it cost for Rs 4,060 per quintal in futures trade. Participants raised bets on account of increased demand of chana from dal mills in spot markets. Moreover, a drastic drop in arrival from the producing region followed by the limited and tight stocks position has fuelled this uptrend.

At the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, the delivery of chana in January advanced by Rs 111, or 2.81 per cent, to Rs 4,060 per quintal with an open interest of around 24,850 lots. Also, delivery in March edged Rs 47, or 1.24 per cent, higher to Rs 3,841 per quintal in approximately 77,370 lots.

Analysts across the nation attributed this sudden rise in prices to widening of positions by speculators, tracking a firm trend in the domestic commodity market.

Source :https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/rising-demand-lifts-chana-futures-by-281/1221796

Muted demand caused steady prices for pulses

02 January 2018 Last Updated at 2:37 pm

Wholesale pulses market encountered the steady conditions as prices moved in a narrow range while settling around previous levels. Adequate stocks position against sporadic demand mainly kept prices from changing their levels.

Latest pulses rates (in Rs per quintal) are as follows:

Masoor small Rs 3,700-3,850, bold Rs 3,800-3,950, Dal Masoor local Rs 3,900-4,300, best quality Rs 4,000-4,400, Malka local Rs 4,200-4,400, best Rs 4,300-4,600, Moth Rs 3,500-3,900, Arhar Rs 4,200 Dal Arhar Dara Rs 6,000-7,900.

Urad Rs 4,000-5,600, Urad Chilka (local) Rs 5,000-5,100, Urad best Rs 5,100-5,600, Dhoya Rs 5,500-5,700, Moong Rs 4,800-5,500, Dal Moong Chilka local Rs 5,600-5,800, Moong Dhoya local Rs 6,200-6,700 and best quality Rs 6,700-6,900.

Gram Rs 4,300-4,850, Gram dal (local) Rs 4,900-5,300, best quality Rs 5,300-5,400, Besan (35 kg),Shakti bhog Rs 2,200, Rajdhani Rs 2,200, Rajma Chitra Rs 6,000-8,300, Kabuli Gram small Rs 7,400-8,400, Dabra Rs 2,700-2,800, Imported Rs 4,700-5,100, Lobia Rs 4,000-4,200, Peas white Rs 2,650-2,675 and green Rs 2,700-2,800.

Source :https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/pulses-remain-steady-on-muted-demand/1221233

Yellow Peas – the next alternative crop for the farmers

By Jon Vanderford | Posted: Thu 10:43 AM, Dec 21, 2017

More farmers in eastern Nebraska are now growing Yellow Peas as it continues to be a popular alternative crop in western part of the state.

Strahinja Stepanovic, Extension Educator said that the Yellow Peas are a cold season legume crop and that many people think they are a garden plant, but they are grown for seed, and it’s a staple crop in northern states like Montana and North Dakota, and now even Canada.

Yellow pea acres have expanded drastically in the last five years from many 10,000 to 70,000 acres primarily in western Nebraska. The main reason for this growth is that the crop is good to rotate to help with the existing soil health.

Stepanovic said that there is also a growing profitability for farmers when it comes to producing Yellow Peas. He added that this crop is a pulse crop like lentils or chick peas, and its demand is increasing day by day worldwide. The diversity of the market of the product is up and that he prices are also driving up which encourages the farmers to grow it more.

Stepanovic also informed that various studies are being done at the International Wheat Center on the potential of yellow peas as an alternative crop for farmers across the state. He also says work is going to be done on whether chick peas could also be a crop for farmers in Nebraska or not.

Source :http://www.1011now.com/content/news/Yellow-Peas-Growing-in-Popularity-465699283.html

Indian Government to introduce 30 per cent tariffs on imports of chickpeas and lentils

In November, Indian Government introduced 50 percent tariff on yellow peas as a part of ongoing efforts by India to support farmers. This bold move is now followed by the increased tariff on imports of may commodities like lentils and chickpeas. India is introducing 30 percent tariffs on imports of products like chickpeas and lentils.

The Indian government in the latest news release said that the Production of chana (chickpeas) and Masoor (lentils) are expected to grow high during the forthcoming rabi season in 2018 and if cheap imports are allowed will likely to affect adversely the interest of the Indian farmers. Hence, this step is taken in the favor of the local farmers.

During the first three years of 2017, India imported around 57,400 tonnes of Canadian lentils from licensed elevators, according to Canadian Grain Commission Data. No Canadian chickpea sales to India have been reported yet this marketing year.

Limited imports of Wheat & Pulse in India due to its rising output

Mumbai, India: Indian wheat & pulses production is expected to jump next year.

This rise is expected because a hike in the government’s assured purchase prices and increase in rate of rainfall have made farmers to plant more of the winter crops this year. Thus, this higher production will help the south Asian country in reducing imports of pulses in the 2018-19 f.y. starting April 1 and could make it possible for India to avoid importing wheat for the first time past in three years.

Considering the current situation, Pravin Dongre, chair person of the India Pulses & Grains Association claims that farmers across south & central India are more likely to expand the area given over to chickpeas by nearly 20 percent. He also added that chickpeas resulted in better returns to the farmers than they could make it from oilseeds. Chickpea or chana s the main winter-seeded pulse crop in India apart from wheat & pulses.

India is the world’s biggest importer of pulses so far. It has shipped in around 6.6 million tonnes of mostly peas in fiscal 2016-17. Moreover, The government’s decision to raise the chickpea support price by 10 percent have imposed around 50 percent import duty on peas which will lure farmers to plant chickpea, said Nitin Kalantri, a pulses miller based at Latur in Maharashtra. He also added that wheat prices are stable for now and that the Government has raised minimum support price (MSP) and import duty on it as well. This will certainly encourage farmers to expand area for such crops. India usually imports peas mainly from Canada, Russia, the United States and France.

Around 6.7 percent of rise can be seen in India’s wheat output in 2017. This result was drawn from a year earlier to a record high 98.38 million tonnes.

Source :https://www.producer.com/2017/12/indias-rising-wheat-pulse-output-likely-curb-imports/

Great Demand of India’s Wheat & Pulses in 2018

Mumbai: November 29, 2017 12:27 IST

Higher production of India’s winter crop like wheat and pulses could make it possible for India to avoid procuring wheat & pulses from foreign land for the first time in past three years. It is expected that India’s production of wheat and pulses will jump in 2018 as a hike in the government’s assured purchase prices and ample rainfall have caused farmers to plant more of the winter crops.

Higher the production in the country, lower will be the import of such crops from foreign land. If things go well, this will be the first time in past three years. India usually imports wheat from Ukraine, Australia, Bulgaria and Russia.

Harish Galipelli, head of commodities and currencies at Indi trade Derivatives & Commodities said that with a better realization there should be at least a 5 per cent rise in wheat sowing.

Moreover, prices of wheat are stable and that Government has raised minimum support price as well as import duty which will eventually encourage farmers to expand area.Wheat production shows a gradual rise in production which means India would not need to import any wheat in 2018/19. Government agencies holds wheat stock of around 23.9 million tonnes as on Nov. 1 which is up by around 27 per cent from a year ago following record output in 2017, added the official from Food Corporation of India.

It is likely to happen that farmers will expand the area given over to chickpeas by nearly 20 per cent, said Pravin Dongre, chairman of the India Pulses and Grains Association. He added that, Chickpeas gave better returns to the farmers than any other oilseeds. There can be seen a significant jump in sowing in the initial reports.

He also claimed that the Chickpea or chana is the main winter-sown pulse crop in India. A rise in the production of the chickpea will eventually help the country reduce import of pulses in 2018/19.

In 2016/17, India’s pea imports jumped up by 41 per cent from a year earlier to a record 3.17 million tonnes. India mainly imports peas from Canada, Russia, United States and France.

Source :http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/winter-crops-in-demand-why-india-s-wheat-pulses-output-will-spike-in-2018-117112900202_1.html

NARS in India: The Largest and the Strongest

India has one of the strongest National Agricultural Research System in the World:Shri Radha Mohan Singh

New Delhi: December 5, 2017 18:20 IST

Addressing the representatives at the 5th Regional Coordination Meeting of ICARDA-South Asia & China Regional Program, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh expressed the overwhelmed happiness about his participation in the above said regional program. The program was organized for enhancing the Strategic Partnership through Food and Nutritional Security in South Asia & China. The program was attended by the representatives from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Egypt, India, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sudan. It was organized at NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi. He said that India possesses vital strengths in agriculture which is varied and diverse in nature.

This country has one of the strongest national agricultural research systems in the world. Geographically, there are as many as 127 diverse agro-climatic zones and we have the second-largest arable area which makes India a global leader in several crops. Globally, India stands second, in terms of production of rice, wheat, fish, fruits and vegetables. It is also the world’s biggest milk producer. Their horticulture sector has also shown an average growth of 5.5% annually over the last decade.

Despite all positive facts, the challenges in an Indian agriculture still persist. Keeping in mind that farmers are the primary stakeholders, Officials in India have launched many new initiatives to the yield of their farm and double their farmers income by raising their socio-economic status. He also added that India has taken up the initiative for the establishment of 150 Seed Hubs for pulses, ensuring timely availability of sufficient quantity of quality seeds. The establishment of seed hubs for other crops is also being studied and is under process.

India-ICARDA collaboration reached another level when the Union Cabinet of India, chaired by Shri. Narendra Modi, honble Prime Minister, approved granting an international status under the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947, to ICARDA in India, and supported the establishment of Satellite Hubs in West Bengal, exclusively for pulses and Rajasthan, for NRM research on forages including spineless cactus, management of rangelands and silvi-pasture, developing models for improving crop-water productivity and conservation agriculture.

Source :http://www.business-standard.com/article/government-press-release/india-has-one-of-the-strongest-national-agricultural-research-systems-in-117120501028_1.html

Chana Futures shows a Steep Growth due to Rise in Spot Demand

Published: 23rd November 2017 06:23 PM

Market for pulses in present day seems to have risen enough to cast a smile of happiness for the traders, especially when we are talking about chana. Chana prices shown a steep climb of 3.24 per cent, or Rs 155, to close at Rs 4,935 per quintal in futures market today. Factors like enquiries from dal mills, support from central Government, pick-up in demand in the physical market against tight stocks position due to fall in supplies from producing regions, etc. have enhanced this momentous growth.

Chana for delivery in the beginning of the next year surged by 3.24% or Rs 155 and to close at Rs 4,935 per quintal whereas Chana for delivery in December month also rose by 3.10% or Rs 152, or 3.10 per cent and to close at Rs 5,055 per quintal.

Lifting The Ban From Tur & Urad Futures Trading: A Brilliant Decision

New Delhi: November 18, 2017, 15:32 IST

Commodity bourse NCDEX have demanded the lifting of a decade-long ban on tur and urad futures trading as it welcomed the Government’s epic move to remove the export curbs on all kinds of pulses in the interest of farmers, the primary provider.

Encouraging pulses export is a ground-breaking move specially when these pluses are having prices below the minimum suport price (MSP). The Exchange also claimed that it can be the most the appropriate time for re-launching futures trading in pulses like tur and urad exchange said in a statement. It then added that the re-launch of these pulses futures will provide a price indicator and a hedging tool for entire pulses value chain including farmers.

The Managing Director & CEO of NCDEX, Mr. Samir Shah said that the recent re-launch of chana futures on the NCDEX platform has provided benchmark prices to the industry. He then added that the Re-launching of tur and urad futures will not only help in providing advance price signals to millions of farmers but it will also improve their realizations.

The Central Government on Thursday removed export restrictions on all varieties of pulses in a bid to shore up domestic prices which have fallen sharply because of abundant supplies.

Source :https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/ncdex-demands-lifting-ban-on-tur-urad-futures/articleshow/61701319.cms

Desi Daal, The New Superstar of Food Chain

Published: September 7, 2017 10:00 AM

We all crave to have ‘Super’ things in our life. Super markets, super stars, super cars, super bikes, super dads, super moms, super heroes, etc. and within this hectic and chaotic life we forget that our health needs something more than just a food, may be a Super Food. So if one asks, is there a super food for diabetics? The answer is YES. There is.

Daals, chana, chana and other pulses which are commonly referred to as legumes are a staple part of an Indian and Mediterranean cuisines and are also the richest sources of plant protein, vitamin B and many other minerals and micronutrients. Although, their beneficial properties in diabetes are not very well understood yet, there is enough data to point in the direction of them being good for diabetes. However, Traditional wisdom has seen these pulses & legumes as an integral part of daily diets for some good reason. Diabetes is now globally on the rise.

Correct food is important for diabetics as well as people who may turn diabetics or are already at the stage of pre-diabetics. Healthy legumes can be termed as super foods because they can automatically help control diabetes and also maintain glucose levels and provide great nutrition. There are various studies which provide data on a large cohort as well as over a long period of time showing suitable support to legumes as preventive foods for diabetes. These legumes are used since long in many traditional diet routine that helps in reducing the glycemic index of other foods and have low glycemic index.

In a recent study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition researchers have conducted a trial on 3349 patients. The study was analyzed over a span of four years. It was clearly evident that legumes consumption if above around 30 gm/day, reduces the risk of diabetes by almost 35%. This is a phenomenal data and will reduce the incidence of diabetes considerably as well as reduce the burden on healthcare expenditure. There is an immediate need of more studies and longer data base to claim it as the food required for prevention of diabetes. It is also accepted that these legumes are useful to reduce the post prandial peaks in clinical practice.

The fact that ancient food is scientifically favorable can be proven with the help of further studies. This will also help in understanding that how desi daal is actually a super food. Legumes work in favor of diabetes as they are the food with considerably low glycemic load and are extremely high in their nutrient values.

Source :https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/desi-daal-may-be-a-diabetic-superfood/articleshow/60387083.cms

India’s Deal with Mozambique: A Commitment so Uncertain

One of the centrepiece of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the East African country in last July is the MoU signed with Mozambique to buy arhar grown there. A record harvest of pulses in India has led to a problem of large availability of such crops making a bumper crop comparatively not favourable. This has affected to the extent that now India is unable to keep a commitment to Mozambique to import pigeon peas— locally known as arhar—which made Mozambican officials to visit New Delhi seeking clarity on the matter.

Considering the news from Mozambique, it says that India has imposed quotas on pigeon pea imports, listing it under the “restricted” category of imports from the “free” with a stricture saying that only 200,000 tonnes of pigeon peas can be imported in any one fiscal year. India has so far imported 30,000 tonnes out of its committed 125,000 tonnes for 2017-18, as claimed by

the report in the Club of Mozambique news website. Whereas, According to the text of the MoU, available on the website of India’s consumer affairs ministry, India has committed to buy 125,000 tonnes of pigeon peas in 2017-18.

Although as per the directorate general of foreign trade notification dated 5 August, it can be found that the restriction on imports does not apply to the Indian government’s import commitments “under any bilateral/regional agreement/MoU.”

Africa is seen as an important and valuable partner for India. “With GDP growth in Africa going up, it is a market for goods and services from India,” said Lalit Mansingh, former foreign secretary. “With India looking for a larger say in international issues especially at the UN, Africa is important as India looks for support at the UN Security Council,” Mansingh added. Although, The Indian high commission in Mozambique and the Mozambican high commission in New Delhi were unavailable to comment on the issue. Hence, any reluctance on India’s part to keep to its agreement could cost it precious goodwill that it has been trying to maintain in Africa for some years now.

Source :http://www.livemint.com/Politics/Llmp4EEfN5iMQhxTE797jO/Will-bumper-yield-of-pulses-derail-Indias-deal-with-Mozambi.html

Will Government allow the export of pulses like Chana, Masur and Moth?

Soon after the Government opened the gates to export Urad dal, moong dal and tur dal, Dal millers across the country are trying to open their way towards the export of chana, masur and moth. A delegation of dal millers visited the commerce minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday with the request to allow the export of chana, masur& moth. This year, about 260-270 lakh tonnes of pulses are produced in India and around 57 lakh tonnes of pulses have been imported whereas the country consumes only 250-260 lakh tonnes in a year. Moreover, the government has procured around 15-18 lakh tonnes of pulses and now it is offloading their stock in the local market. These factors like higher production of pulses and Government offloading their procured stock in local market have affected the price of the pulses to a greater extent. The prices of pulses are moving downward resulting in the ruling price lower than the actual.
In 2006, Government imposed the ban on export of various pulses like tur, urad, moongchana, masur, moth and lifted this ban on the prior three from 15th September, 2017 whereas the later three are still waiting for their chance.

Crisil states that the Government must keep an eye on the volatility of the pulse prices

Mumbai | Updated: Sep 11, 2017, 06.33 PM IST

Mumbai: With inflation in pulses, the Government needs to keep an eye on the volatility by announcing new and effective MSPs, bringing new open trade policies, efficient irrigation facilities and promoting future markets. It is observed that inflation in pulses follows a regular and cyclical pattern, with prices shooting up every two to three years. And so far, from 2006 up to current fiscal, there have been around four such cycles which have resulted in the exaggerated prices of pulses in the market. As stated in the report by Crisil, the trend rate of inflation has averaged 12.2%, with the peaks around 40% above zero and the troughs 25% below it. Among the top 5 categories, tur, urad and gram (chickpeas) have the highest weight in WPI for pulses.The price movements in these pulses can result in significant movement in the index. The rating agency also said that moong dal and masur dal are important pulses from the consumption point of view.

Crisil’s Chief Economist Dharmakirti Joshi explained that the latest cycle that began in 2013 witnessed the steepest peak by 49% in November 2015 and fall by 32.6% in July 2017. It also witnessed the broad-based price fluctuations as compared to previous cycles. While input costs continued to grow, wholesale prices of all the pulses except gram (chickpeas) declined sharply resulting in the drastic declination in the profit margins of all the pulses except gram (chickpeas). Since there were no restrictions on the export of grams, the profitably remained on the higher side for the gram farmers. Crisil report also stated that the pronounced cyclical patterns in pulses tend to hurt both consumers and producers. It is the prime time that Government initiates major steps to protect the prices with the effective MSPs and other required policies. Also, there is an immediate need to de-risk the crops by increasing the irrigation buffer.

The Government needs to introduce new MSP schemes for pulses with raised procurement and a serious focus on increasing its awareness among the farmers. The proper and sufficient awareness is necessary so that farmers can utilize such schemes at the fullest. With the help of forward contracts and future production planning, government can reduce the uncertainty of the prices of pulses to the greater extent.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/centre-must-curb-pulse-price-volatility-says-crisil/articleshow/60464352.cms

Finally, the wait is over with the Government allowing export of Tur, Moong and Urad Dal after a decade.

Pune, 15th September 2017

This can be the moment of relief to the traders and manufacturers of pulses in India. The long wait to remove the ban imposed by the Government on the export of pulses from India has been removed. The Government has finally opened up exports of tur, moong and urad dal after more than a decade. Currently, urad dal and moong dal is being harvested by the farmers and this removal of ban will help support prices of the same. However, prices of both the pulses are ruling below the Minimum Support Price. Ruling at Rs 3000/quintal in Maharashtra, urad dal prices are almost Rs. 1000/quintal below the MSP. Considerable shifts are expected in the graph of pulses now. With this removal of ban has in given a sigh of hope to the manufacturers and traders in many ways.

Parle Products enters the Pulse Market with its new brand Fresh Harvest.

Mumbai | Updated:Jun 05, 2017, 08.24 PM IST

The renowned name in biscuits and confectionery industry, Parle Products, enters the pulses market with its new brand label ‘Fresh Harvest’. This brand will offer the wide range of pulses likeToor dal, Moong dal, Urad dal, Channa dal and Masoor dal which will be sourced from the farms in the state of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

In its initial stage, Fresh Harvest has been launched across class-A outlets and local retail chains in around 5 lakh towns throughout Maharashtra. In its later stages, Parle Products will launch it phased-wise in other parts of India over the next 12 months.The category head of Parle Product, Mr. Mayank Shah, acclaimed that with the involvement of a company like Parle right from sourcing to delivering quality end products to consumers will help in convincing them to switch to packaged pulses.

Currently, the pulses market is estimated at 27 million tonnes annually and India’s projected demand for pulses is targeted to grow up to 35 million tonnes by 2020. In the coming time, Pulses Industry will offer a great space for the development and progress.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/food/parle-products-soon-to-enter-pulses-category/articleshow/59003668.cms

Effects of Erratic Rain in India on Pricing of Pulses

Sep 1, 2017

Daily news show Commodity Champions being telecasted on CNBC TV18 focused on the monsoon scenario in India and its effect on the agricultural output. The show, hosted by Ms. Manisha Gupta, mainly focused on the irregular and unpredictable patterns of monsoon in many parts of India and its after effect on cultivation and crops output. This crucial issue was discussed with Mr. Abhijeet Sen, Professor at JNU joined by Dr. B.V. Mehta, E.D of Solvent Extraction Association of India. The whole discussion was intensified in attempt to find the effect of these erratic rainfalls on the prices of agricultural crops specially pulses.

Once egg-cited, State to beat malnourishment with protein-rich diet

Ahmedabad Mirror | Updated: Sep 1, 2017, 02.00 AM IST

If not eggs, give them pulses. That’s the latest strategy of the State government to fight malnourishment among children in the state. It has decided to provide protein-rich snacks to more than 40 lakh children in primary schools. This will be in addition to the mid-day meals. The State education department claims that Gujarat is the first in the country to provide protein- rich food, mainly pulses, along with mid-day meals.

Stunted growth

According to a recent Unicef report, 41.6 per cent children of the state have stunted growth. Alarmed by rise in protein deficiency among children in a state which is already battling high incidence of malnourishment, the government had considered introducing eggs in the mid-day meals. However, the proposal met with stiff resistance from parents, following which it was withdrawn. Now, the State has decided to add proteins to the vegetarian fare itself.

The new menu for all the days, which includes the main meal and the snacks, has been decided by the education department with the help of mid-day meal authorities and nutritionists of Children University. Nutrition expert and in-charge registrar of Children University Kamalamani Rao and her team have worked on the new menu. She said, As per the set standard, 1/3 of total calories and 1/3 of total proteins a child requires should come from the mid-day meal.

Source : http://ahmedabadmirror.indiatimes.com/ahmedabad/others/once-egg-cited-state-to-beat-malnourishment-with-protein-rich-diet/articleshow/60314455.cms

Chana Dal Makes the Latest Entry in the Oxford Dictionary

27/06/2017 11:26 PM IST | Updated 27/06/2017 11:36 PM IST

LONDON — Indian food essentials – chana and chana dal – are among the many new entries in the ‘Oxford English Dictionary’ (OED) unveiled on Tuesday.

Chickpeas (chana) and the split chickpea lentils (chana dal) join the vast list of more than 600 other words and phrases that the authoritative Oxford English Dictionary has deemed popular enough to be included in its quarterly update.

The clutch of words debuting in the world’s definitive guide to the evolving English language covers everything from lifestyle and current affairs to the educational world.

Source : http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/chana-dal-makes-the-latest-entry-in-the-oxford-dictionary-top-5-more-such-food-entries-1717922