The Indian government will have to manage the prices of pulses prudently as the acreage under the crop is down by eight per cent. Besides, farmers in key growing States such as Karnataka and Maharashtra are in desperate need of water to irrigate the standing crops amid up to 77 per cent rainfall deficit this month.
According to kharif sowing data released on Friday by the Ministry of Agriculture, the area under all pulses is lower by 8.3 per cent at 117.44 lakh hectares (lh) as of August 25 against 128.07 lh a year ago. Even individually, all three major crops — arhar, urad, and moong — have been sown in less area than last year.
Moong (green gram) has been covered on 30.64 lh (-8.1 per cent), urad on 31.10 lh (-13.81 per cent) and arhar on 42.11 lh (-5.3 per cent). Other pulses (except kulthi) are also down five per cent at 13.34 lh.
Rajasthan an exception
While Rajasthan has reported 1.36 lh higher area, most other major pulses-growing States have witnessed lower acreage. Madhya Pradesh reported 3.58 lh less acreage, Karnataka 3.15 lh, Maharashtra 2.73 lh, Uttar Pradesh 0.61 lh, Telangana 0.46 lh, Andhra Pradesh 0.44 lh and Gujarat 0.40 lh.
According to India Meteorological Department, rainfall during August 1-25 was 77 per cent below normal in Rajasthan, 75 per cent lower in Karnataka, 58 per cent less in Maharashtra and 28 per cent deficit in Madhya Pradesh.
The lower acreage seems to have its reflection on prices of pulses as the all-India average retail price of arhar dal reached ₹140/kg, that of urad dal to ₹116/kg and moong dal ₹112/kg. Compared with retail prices six months ago, arhar dal has jumped by a quarter, but moong dal and urad dal prices have increased by seven per cent and eight per cent, respectively.
The wholesale rates of these three key dals are higher by six-26 per cent from rates six months ago, according to data from the Consumer Affairs Ministry. In a report on Friday, Kotak Economics Research said weekly prices of pulses jumped seven times and declined six times since June 1, indicating the fluctuation in rates were more influenced by demand-supply factors rather than any negative sentiments.
Key factor
However, traders said scarcity of tur and urad is influencing prices of other pulses after chana (Bengal gram) increased by ₹ six to seven a kg in the retail market in recent days despite higher production estimates by the Ministry of Agriculture.
“Production will be a key factor that will decide the price behaviour after October. Though the government’s crop production estimates may come next month, traders will keenly wait for the mandi (market) arrivals as they will be more authentic to indicate a trend,” said Anurag Desai, a food price analyst in Jaipur.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture Ministry data show that paddy sowing is higher by four per cent at 384 lh and only 15 lh less than the normal area of the season. Unlike pulses, where the sowing window is complete and only data has to be compiled, the paddy transplanting goes on till September-end The overall acreage of all kharif crops reached 1053.6 lh, which is 3.63 lh more than the year-ago period.