Strange but true. The Centre's export data for the April-December and April-January periods of last fiscal show that guar gum exports are lower than the April-November period!

After a gap of over three months, the exports data were put on the Web site of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) on Thursday.

The data prove right on fears expressed over export figures put out in November. Then, the general view was that something was wrong with the data. One of the reasons for the fear was that according to the data, over three lakh tonnes of guar gum were exported in November. This was seen unlikely since the monthly capacity of the industry to produce gum is 50,000 tonnes only.

According to sources, after the November export figures were put out, an irked Commerce Ministry wanted to make it doubly sure that correct data were released. Concerns over the figures were raised since the guar complex rally was driven by these data.

Doubts over the export data were raised since it was felt that over six lakh tonnes of guar gum could not have been exported with a projected crop of 12 lakh tonnes.

This is because a quintal of guarseed yields 33 kg of guar gum.

Even the latest data evokes suspicion because to export 5.59 lakh tonnes, guarseed production should be a little over 16 lakh tonnes!

The guar complex had come into focus in view of the rally in spot and futures markets. The Forward Markets Commission, concerned over the rally in the complex, banned the commodity on futures exchanges.

>mrsubramani@thehindu.co.in

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