Weekly: Tur-Urad Posts Strong Gains, While Masoor-White Pea Cracks Lower

MUMBAI (Commodities control) – Tur and Urad moved higher for the week ended 19th September amid improved mills buying activity, while Masoor and White Pea prices remained weak due to government policies. On the other hand, Chana and Moong prices traded mixed on limited mill buying, as per requirement.

Weekly Highlights

# Kharif sowing area for all crops reached to 1113.63 lakh hectare as on 18 September in the country. Last year, sown area was 1053.52 lakh ha till same period. Total area increased 5.71% (60.11 lakh hectare).
# India kharif pulses sowing as on Sep 18 was up 4.75% at 138.62 lakh hectare as against 132.34 lakh hectare during the same period last year.
# Centre Urged To Extend Deadline To Import Dal Varieties.
# Heavy Rains Affected Crops Like Paddy, Pulses, Oilseeds: Govt.
# IMD Issues Orange Alert for Karnataka, Kerala Starting This Weekend.
# The Lok Sabha has passed two farm-related bills that would allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere and enter into tie-ups with retailers, exporters or other parties to minimise risks and get a good price.
# Import Duty on Masoor Reduced to 10% Until 31st October 2020.
# India's August Trade Deficit in Goods at $6.77 Bn.

Burma Lemon Tur:

Tur Lemon variety of Burma-origin, both old and new, gained Rs 250 to Rs 5,950-6,150/100Kg, respectively in Mumbai amid better mill buying activity and lower availability of imported Tur stock.

Similarly, domestic variety Tur traded higher by Rs 400 to Rs 6,825-6,850/100Kg at benchmark market Akola, on improved local and outstation mill purchase due to immediate requirement for crushing.

Good trade activity in Tur dal was witnessed from Wholesale/retail counters aiding tur prices.

Meanwhile, millers were unable to procure good quality Tur for crushing due to negligible arrivals. Sellers are unwilling to liquidate in anticipation of price rise.

India 2020-21 Kharif Tur Sowing was Up 6.12 %, as on September 18, at 48.24 Lakh Ha Vs 45.46 Last Year.

In Mumbai, Mozambique Tur new Gajri/White variety traded at Rs 5,800-5,850/100Kg and Red variety at Rs 5,450-5,500. In forward trade, Mozambique Tur traded at Rs 5,550/100Kg for September-October.

In forward trade, Mozambique Tur new traded at $715 per ton against September-October shipment.

Mozambique-origin old Tur Phatka variety traded at Rs 8,200/100Kg and Sava No variety at Rs 8,000.

Meanwhile unconfirmed news is making rounds in the market, that government will allocate quota to millers/refineries soon amid shortage of Tur.

Government agencies are selling old raw Tur to the mills for processing, packaging and supply of processed Tur under PDS.

As per market view, supplies pressure of Tur from Mozambique is seen next month onwards. Tur prices will be under check, if government allocates quota to millers.

Burma Urad:

Price of Burma Urad FAQ new variety gained for second straight week by Rs 150 to Rs 6,800-6,850/100Kg, in Mumbai.

Similarly in Chennai, Burma Urad SQ/FAQ varieties also moved up to Rs 50-100 at Rs 7,700-7,800/100Kg and Rs 6,850 respectively, due to rains in producing areas, better mill buying activity against limited ready stock and no supply pressure from overseas.

Moreover, forecast of rain and cloudy weather has supported the prices due to fear of crop damage as kharif crop harvesting is going on. Recent rains already damaged crop, affected yield and the quality of Urad.

The mills are purchasing as per immediate crushing requirement against the fast-paced arrivals of new kharif urad at producing centers.

As per market sources and Burma based traders, buyers from India were active in purchasing Urad, in hope that government will allocate import quota to millers/refineries due to shortage of Urad. However, no sellers were active in Burma as they await the notification.

If the government allocates quota or gives further extension, prices in Burma market will move higher and import parity would also be higher, in that case.

Southern and North Indian millers are actively purchasing good quality new Urad with lesser moisture content from Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, good offtake was witnessed in processed Urad.

Urad gota variety new of Tikamgarh-origin traded at Rs 9,400-9,500/100Kg for southern market delivery, such Salem/Chennai/Tenali/Guntur/Vijaywada).

India 2020-21 Kharif Urad Sowing is up 1.58 %, as On September 18, At 38.63 Lakh Ha Vs 38.03 Last Year.

Chana Kantewala (Indore):

Chana prices remained firm by Rs 25-50 to Rs 5,075-5,100/100Kg in Indore as millers were facing difficulty in procuring good quality for crushing.

Moreover, Nafed has been active at liquidating stocks at higher rate and rejected bids of lower rates.

Chana, currently, appears to be in speculators’ grip that is pushing up chana prices on the futures in apprehension of declining government stock.

However, thin demand in chana dal and besan was reported from consumption centres.

On the other hand, In Mumbai, Tanzania-origin Chana old traded weak Rs 50 at Rs 5,000/100Kg due to fresh supplies from Tanzania.

Tanzania-origin Chana was quoted at $655-$660 per ton on CNF basis for September-October shipment.

Similarly, Sudan-origin Kabuli Chickpea was also declined Rs 50 at Rs 5,200-5,250.
Sudan-origin Kabuli Chickpea priced at $675-$680 per ton for ready shipment, while Russia-origin Kabuli Chana was priced flat at Rs 5,150/100Kg.

Russia-origin Kabuli Chickpea is priced at $460-$465 per ton for October shipment. Supplies are expected from mid-October. However, crop is reported to be lower by 30-40%.

As per market talk, Chana prices are likely be underpinned at lower rates as consumption may continue amid festive season. Negligible overseas supplies of White Pea may support Chana prices further.

Meanwhile, NAFED has indicated that the chana stocks procured so far will be sold through various government schemes announced (PMGKAY). Nafed has targets to distribute around 9.73 lakh tonnes of Chana under (PMGKAY) till 30 November 2020. About 4.73 lakh tonnes has been dispatched so far.

Imported Masoor (Mumbai):

Canada crimson variety and Australia-origin Masoor in Mumbai slipped, by Rs 75-100 at Rs 5,261-5,350/100Kg and Rs 5,400-5,425, respectively in Mumbai, as government has reduced the import duty other than the US-origin Masoor by 20 per cent from September 18, 2020 to October 31, 2020, a move aimed at increasing availability in the domestic market.

In case of imports of U.S-origin Masoor, the duty has been brought down to 30 per cent from the earlier 50 per cent.

Similarly, Canada crimson variety Masoor at Hazira and Mundra port fell Rs 100 each, at Rs 5,241-5,251/100Kg, respectively.

Availability of imported raw and processed Masoor stock at cheaper rates and slower offtake in processed Masoor has pressurized sentiments.

Duty cut announced in June benefited foreign farmers and traders as global prices of Masoor rose after India reduced the import duty. The country imported about 25 lakh tonnes of pulses last fiscal to meet domestic demand and out of that 8.5 lakh tonne was Masoor. Imports of Masoor are set to rise to 10 lakh tonnes this fiscal.

Imported White Pea (Mumbai):

White Pea prices declined Rs 150 to Rs 6,350/100Kg at Kanpur market on thin trade.

On the other hand, price of White pea besan and dal traded firm due to shortage. Moreover, crushing of White Pea for making dal, besan by mills were less interesting due to unavailability of White Pea. Major mills have halted the crushing activity in White Pea.

Customs department has not released the imported pulse, as the release will be contradicting the government’s existing policy.

Moong (Jaipur):

Moong old prices remained almost flat at around Rs 6,500-6,600/100Kg in Jaipur market of Rajasthan, as per quality, amid limited mill buying as demand and sale counters in processed Moong reported limited participation.

Tanzania-origin new Moong traded higher at Rs 6,700-6,800/100kg in Mumbai.

New Kharif Moong also moved higher, as per quality at many producing centers, such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat and Rajasthan due to mill buying for immediate processing requirement.

However, moisture content was noted to be higher in new Moong arrivals, at Karnataka and Maharashtra, due to continuous rain during whole week. Quality may be further damaged due to forecast of rains next week as well.

Summer crop Moong in Madhya Pradesh also gained on local and outstation mills buying activity.

Robust summer crop of Moong was reported this year in Madhya Pradesh and Moong supply will most likely continue till next year. Meanwhile, government agencies are yet to procure at MSP prices. Farmers continue to be in possession of the stock.

As per market talk, arrivals and supplies stocked in godowns meanwhile are enough to offset current requirements. Moong prices will depend on supply pressure of kharif Moong pressure in Rajasthan and also on government procurement quantity at MSP of Rs 7,196/100Kg. Moong prices of good quality are unlikely to slip below Rs 6,000-6,500/100Kg. No carryover stock of old Moong was reported with government and private traders.

India’s 2020-21 Kharif moong sowing is up 16.39 %, as on September 18, at 35.79 Lakh Ha.

(By Commodities control Bureau; +91 9820130172)