Chana futures prices on the national commodity bourses may remain weak over the next few days on higher stocks with exchange warehouses supported by continued imported inflows of pulses. Overall demand from local buyers is limited.
Chana futures on NCDEX fell by nearly 12% to trade at Rs 2,119 per quintal on Monday over last month mainly on increased supplies amid restricted buying from basan mills.
Chana prices also fell by Rs 20 to 2,125 per quintal on Monday at Delhi market with daily inflows of about 3,500-4,000 bags.
?Rising stocks in exchange warehouses and higher output estimates by the government pushed the chana futures prices lower,? analyst with Bonanza Commodity Broker said. Demand from millers remained steady, he said.
Warehouse stocks in the NCDEX has risen around 56% in the month of May and stood at 84,154 tonne, as per latest exchange data.
Sowing of kharif pulses including tur, urad and moong may commence in the coming weeks and given the higher prices of these pulses, a higher acreage this season could not be denied.
Spot prices of urad, tur and masoor are ruling higher than chana prices in the northern markets. It can be noted that only yellow peas? prices are ruling lower than chana due to government intervention. ?A stronger rupee that made imports cheaper was nullifying impact of lower arrivals. State run agencies have contracted to import of 64,000 tonne of pulses for 2009-10,? Anand James, senior analyst with Geojit Comtrade, said.
Government agencies had contracted 1.03 million tonne of pulses in the previous year and 9.28 lakh tonne have landed in the country, according to government agencies. ?We expect chana prices to remain weak in the coming weeks as stockists may not like to hold for long time when the availability in the open market is good enough. I think prices may slip to below Rs 2,000 levels,? a local trader said.
Chana output may rise to 13.7% to 6.54 million tonne in 2008-09 against the 5.75 million tonne a year ago, according to government estimates.