Mandi prices of two major pulses – tur (arhar) and gram (chana) — across key producing states are showing a divergent trend. The average modal mandi prices of tur in producing states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are ruling around Rs 6,400-6,500 per quintal against the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 6,300 per quintal.

The modal mandi prices of chana (gram) in the key producing states Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is currently ruling around Rs 5,000 per quintal against the MSP of Rs 5,320 a quintal.

Tur and gram have a combined share of 63% in India’s pulses production in 2021-22. Since procurement began in January 2022, Nafed has procured only 20,000 tonne of tur so far in the current season. The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed) has procured around 0.16 million tonne (mt) of chana till Monday from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh since the procurement began earlier this month.

Trade sources said that chana procurement is likely to pick up pace in the coming weeks as April is the peak month for the arrival of the crop.

Lower procurement of tur has reduced the Nafed’s buffer stock. Currently, the farmer federation has around 1.7 mt of pulses stock, against a buffer norm of 2.1 mt.

According to the second advance estimates for the 2021-22 season, the government had pegged the tur output at 4 mt, slightly lower than the previous year’s 4.32 mt. Traders say that excessive rains during the flowering stage have reduced this year’s tur output by around 20%.

“Farmers are holding onto tur stocks in anticipation of higher prices”, Nitin Kalantri, managing director, Kalantri Food, a Latur, Maharashtra based processor of pulses told FE.

The chana output in 2021-22 is likely to touch 13.12 mt as against 11.92 mt reported in 2020-21.

Bimal Kothari, vice chairman, All India Pulses and Grains Association said that the chana arrivals in Gujarat and Maharashtra Mandis are rising steadily. “Because of this arrival pressure Chana prices have come down below MSP,” Kothari said.

In anticipation of a domestic shortfall in output, in May 2021, the country put imports of tur, urad and moong in the ‘open’ category from ‘restricted’ till March 2022. Till now close to 7 lakh tonne of tur has been imported in 2021-22.

“The umbrella body of FPCs in the state and a state-level agency that procure tur and chana on behalf of Nafed has sought a revolving fund from the Maharashtra government to ensure adequate liquidity so as to pay the dues of farmers for their products within three days of the receipt of the produce,” said Yogesh Thorat, managing director, MahaFPC.