Commodity Outlook – Bengal Gram (Chana)

agribazaar August 24, 2021

Sowing period – September to November
Harvesting period – March to April
Crop season – Rabi

Key growing locations:

Madhya Pradesh – Dewas, Khargone, Sehore, Ujjain, Vidisha
Maharashtra – Amarawati, Akola, Vashim, Wardha, Latur
Gujarat – Surat, Dahod, Rajkot, Amreli, Junagarh
Uttar Pradesh – Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Lalitpur
Karnataka – Gadag, Raichur, Gulbarga, Bidar, Dharwad
Rajasthan – Tonk, Kota, Baran, Jhalawar, Ajmer
Telangana – Adilabad, Warangal

Production trend and Stock position

As per the Ministry of Agriculture fourth advance estimate released on August 11, 2021, Bengal gram production was 11.99 million metric tonnes (MMT) compared to FY 2019-20 which was 11.08 MMT, up by 8.21 percent
As per the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGIS), India’s export of Bengal gram (Desi Chana) for 2021-22 was 5,447.92 MT valued at ₹ 32.02 crore and imports for the same period was 888 MT valued at ₹ 4.23 crore
Import flow would remain restricted as duty plus cess is 60 percent, but import flow may continue from the least developed countries (LDC) as they enjoy the benefit of zero duty
Market regulator SEBI late on August 17, 2021 asked leading agri commodities trading bourse NCDEX to not launch any futures contracts on chana (gram/chickpea)

Monsoon Update

For the country as a whole, cumulative rainfall during this year’s monsoon season till August 11, 2021 is below the Long Period Average (LPA) by 6 percent. Details of the rainfall distribution over the four broad geographical regions of India are given below:

Market commentary: Price outlook

The Government had increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Bengal gram by 4.62 percent to ₹ 5,100 per quintal for Rabi marketing year (MY) 2021-22 compared to ₹ 4,875 in 2020-21
Bengal gram prices will be range-bound with an upward movement in immediate/short term due to lower supplies in mandis against robust demand for chana dal and besan ahead of festivals
Currently, prices of Bengal gram have been hovering around MSP, as NAFED continues to sell Chana stock and therefore the supply side seems balanced for the moment