Pulses remain bullish despite bumper yield

KOLKATA: Amid all pulses, chana had the possibility of becoming cheaper for having a better crop from its cultivation in the 2007-08 rabi season, the harvesting of which has just ended. But this did not happen. Rather, moving in sympathy with other pulses, it continues to move up and has scored a gain of Rs 25 a quintal in the early part of the current week, when it touched Rs 2,450-2,475 per quintal.

As per the fourth advance estimated by the agriculture ministry, total pulses production from the harvest of the 2007-08 rabi season is revised up to 14.66 million tonnes from 0.48 million tonnes in the third advance estimate.
As for chana, its production has been revised upwards to 7.05 mt from the third estimate of 6.38 mt and up from the 2007-08 final estimate of 5.75 mt.

In addition, unlike other pulses, the domestic market is also having a good stock of this pulse from last year���s production. Yet, influenced by a bullish trend in pulses market in general and profit-booking on the chana counter in particular, the chana market continues to remain in the grip of the firm sentiment.

In fact, the demand-supply gap in pulses has become so wide that even the government move to bring in additional 2 lakh tonnes of pulses through imports has made a little impact to arrest the upswing. The firm sentiment has not softened a bit even after the government has disclosed rise in pulse acreage in the ongoing kharif season cultivation.

According to the latest release of the agriculture ministry, total area sown in kharif pulses was reported at 78.91 lakh hectare by the end of first week of August, up 13%, compared with 69.74 lakh hectare same period last year. The probability of improvement in pulses supply, albeit marginal, did not cut much ice to the firm trend with a belief that even as pulses production improves this year on higher coverage, it would help a bit to bridge the yawning supply gap.