Arrivals of kharif urad (black matpe) have begun in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh but the quality of the produce has been affected by recent rains in these States, traders said.
The problem with the quality comes on the heels of a drop in the area under the crop this year. In view of quality issues, urad prices in some of the key regions are ruling below the minimum support price of ₹7,400 a quintal.
“The urad crop has been affected by rains so much that farmers, who usually take home a portion of the produce, are not taking it,” said B Krishnamurthy, Managing Director of Chennai-based Four P International.
According to Agmarknet, an arm of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MAFW), the weighted average price of urad was ₹6,869 a quintal during the weekend.
Modal price
On Monday, the modal price (the rate at which most trades take place) was ₹5,072 a quintal in Bidar, Karnataka, and ₹7,400 in Karjat in Ahmednagar in Maharashtra. In other markets such as Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), the price was higher than the MSP.
Trade sources said the modal price of urad has been ruling in the ₹4,150-6,600 per quintal range across various agri-terminal markets in Karnataka. In the Maharashtra markets, the modal price is hovering in the ₹6,500-7,700 range.
“Prices are lower not because of any excess production. They are down because farmers are dumping their low quality produce,” Krishnamurthy said.
“Excess rains have damaged the urad crop in Yadgiri, Kalaburgi, Bidar and Vijayapura districts in Karnataka and also in parts of Maharashtra,” said Basavaraj Ingin, President of Karnataka Pradesh Red Gram Growers Association in Kalaburgi. Besides, the shortage of labour has also impacted the harvest of the crop, he said.
M.P coverage down sharply
According to MAFW, the area under urad during the current kharif season is lower at 30.73 lakh hectares (lh) compared with 32.60 lh a year ago
MAFW data showed that the area under urad dropped to 9.79 lh from 13.90 lh and in Rajasthan, it dropped to 2.98 lh from 3.18 lh. In Jharkhand urad acreage increased to 1.24 lh (1.02 lh last year), while in Chhattisgarh there was a marginal improvement in coverage at 1.37 lh(1.36 lh). In Gujarat, too, the area increased to 0.83 lh (0.79 lh).
Punit Bachawat, a miller in Ahmedabad, said the urad crop could be lower by about 30 per cent over last year due to the damages caused by excess rain in parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Krishnamurthy pegged the crop damage at 30-40 per cent.
Excess rains have been a problem for the urad crop across all key growing regions in the country this year, trade sources said.
Limited rise likely
“In Bundelkhand (Uttar Pradesh), the crop has severely been affected, while in other places the impact is limited. Due to the rains, the moisture content was high, but now with the withdrawal of monsoon, we can expect clear skies which is good for the crop. Prices are lower due to the high imports,” said Rahul Chauhan of IGrain India.
The surge in urad prices in view of the lower crop could be limited since demand is usually slack after Diwali, said Krishnamurthy.
Currently, Myanmar is quoting $1,032 a tonne free-on-board for urad, while Brazil is quoting at $1,080. “Myanmar has less than two lakh tonnes of stock. Its new crop will come only after January with a small crop that usually comes in December being affected,” said Krishnamurthy.