Chana demand likely to go up ahead of Holi, prices to remain firm

KOLKATA: Chana continued to trade firm on rising demand in the mandis. Festive season domestic demand ahead of Holi and other festivals are likely to support the market sentiments in the near term, said Ajitesh Mallick, AVP, Religare Retail.

With new crop arrivals expected to pick up in coming weeks, the uptrend may be limited however. The recent rains in Rajasthan has led to an apprehension of crop damage.

He said that with rates at very strong support levels, the downtrend too seems limited. Bullish reports from Intl markets with Australian Chana production reportedly falling by 23% supported market sentiments. Significant imports at low rates have prevented any strong uptrend for pulses for quite sometime.

Good sowing reports from MP, UP and Rajasthan amidst high stocks, rise in imports and fall in demand have pressurized chana rates for last few months.

The government has the minimum support price (MSP) for chana for marketing year 2014-15 to Rs. 3100/Q — up Rs. 100 than last year prices. This enabled a rise in sowing area. Imports of Pulses from Myanmar, Australia and Canada have risen. Imports of Kabuli Chana are also there.