PULSES PRICES EXPECTED TO DROP IN A FEW WEEKS
PULSES PRICES EXPECTED TO
DROP IN A FEW WEEKS
Mumbai, October 21st,
2015: India
Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), the apex body for the pulses and grains
industry in India, today held a press conference in Mumbai to address the
growing concerns of spiraling prices of pulses. Pravin Dongre,
Chairman – IPGA
speaking at the conference said, “Private Indian importers, in view of the new
crop in Canada and Australia as well as scarcity in India, have contracted 25
lakh tons of pulses to arrive between October 15th and January 31st.
Out of these 25 lakh tons of pulses, 2.5 lakh tons of pulses have already
arrived at Mumbai port in the last five to seven days. We expect the prices of
pulses to drop appreciably in a next few weeks on the back of large quantities
of pulses scheduled to arrive at Indian ports.”
The IPGA officials, referring to
the recent decision to
withdraw the stock limit exemption for imported pulses, appealed to the
Government of India to reverse this decision in light of the large amount of
stocks that are due to arrive at Indian ports. IPGA also appeals to all State
Governments to give importers, millers, wholesalers and retailers atleast 60 to
90 days to liquidate currently held stocks and achieve the mandated stock
limits. Further enforcement of the stock limit will hamper the imports and lead
to severe scarcity of pulses in the country.
Mr. Bimal Kothari,
Vice Chairman – IPGA
said, “As the apex body for the pulses and grains industry in India, we
are concerned about the spiraling prices of pulses over the last few months.
However, there are reports of excellent harvests of pulses in Australia, Canada
and other exporting countries and stocks will start arriving at Indian ports in
the next couple of weeks helping ease the current situation.”
India has had two consecutive monsoons with deficient
rainfall which has led to lower production of pulses. In 2014, the delayed and
deficient monsoons hampered the kharif production and unseasonal rains and hail
storms in April 2015 affected the Rabi production. The total production for the
year 2014-15 stood at 172 lakh tons vis-à-vis 192.5 lakh tons in 2013-14 – a
loss of 20 lakh tons.In 2015 too, the cultivation has been hit by a deficient
monsoon and the Kharif production, as per the 1st advance estimates
(released on Sept. 16th) of the Ministry of Agriculture, stands at
55.60 lakh tons vis-à-vis the targeted production of 70.50 lakh tons, an
initial deficit of around 15 lakh tons.
The Weather Watch Group’s report of October 9th
shows that the cumulative rainfall
in the country
during the post
monsoon season from Oct. 1st to 7th,
was 44% lower than the Long Period Average. This could very well mean that the
available table moisture, which is critical for the Rabi crop, may not be
enough for a good Rabi crop. The shortfall in production in 2014-15 was compounded with
crop losses in some of the major producing countries like Canada, Myanmar and
Africa. These deficits and losses caused a severe shortage in the domestic as
well as international markets causing price inflation globally and in India as
well. The prices of Tur and Urad have spiraled due to the international and
domestic shortages but a number of other pulses like Yellow Peas (@ Rs. 25 per
kg), Chana (@ Rs. 50 per kg) and Masoor (@ Rs. 65 per kg) are available at
affordable prices.
IPGA is ready to work with the Government of India as well
as Research Institutes in any capacity and work towards increasing production
and yield of pulses. A concerted policy framework is required to increase
production in India to become self-sufficient and IPGA is willing to extend
full support and cooperation to the Government for creating this framework.
IPGA has always maintained that the demand of pulses has
been increasing steadily over the years primarily due to growth in population
and consumption fuelled by rising incomes in the middle income group. India has
been importing pulses for over 37 years under OGL and the imports stood at 4
lakh tons about 25 years back and is expected to reach 55 lakh tons this year.
Mr. Hüseyin
Arslan, President – Global Pulses Confederation (earlier known as CICILS IPTIC),
speaking at the conference said, “India is an extremely important market for
the global producers and there are enough stocks available to import. I am sure
that the current situation will change shortly.”
ABOUT IPGA:
India
Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), is the apex body of India’s pulses and
grains industry & trade. Its membership encompasses market participants
along the value chain. IPGA’s vision is to make Indian pulses and grains
industry & trade globally competitive; and in so doing, help advance
India’s food security and nutrition security. The IPGA enjoys the support of
the Government of India, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution (Department of Consumer Affairs) as well as National Associates
and Global Pulses Confederation (formerly known as CICILS IPTIC) the world body
for pulses trade.
IPGA’s
aspirations are not just national but to play a leadership role in the region
(mainly South Asia) and a dominant role in the global marketplace. In pursuance
of its objectives IPGA will seek to address issues that impact production,
productivity and marketability of pulses in the country. These include input
management, improved agronomic practices, logistics (scientific storage and
movement), procurement policy, and inclusion of pulses in Public Distribution
System (PDS), to name a few. IPGA has over 270 members including Associations
from across India taking the pan-India reach close to 10000 stakeholders.
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