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Informist, Monday, Apr. 28, 2025

 

By Pallavi Singhal

 

NEW DELHI – The Centre has begun focusing on procuring chana in states where prices of the fresh crop have fallen below the minimum support price of INR 5,650 per 100 kg, in an attempt to replenish its depleted buffer stock, a senior official told Informist. As of Friday, the government had been able to procure only 40,000 tonnes of chana, less than 1.5% of the amount of 2.80 million tonnes sanctioned for procurement in the rabi marketing season 2025-26 (Apr-Mar).

 

The progress in procurement has been slow because chana prices have stayed above the minimum support price in key wholesale markets. "However, we are seeing that chana prices have fallen to MSP or under MSP in Rajasthan and Gujarat," the official said. "So we have asked our agencies to focus on procuring the maximum quantities from those regions. This will be dynamic and we will procure from all states that show this trend."

 

Prices of chana in Bikaner, Rajasthan, were ruling at INR 5,535 per 100 kg as of Monday and at INR 5,000 per 100 kg in Rajkot, Gujarat. The commodity is being procured through the two central nodal agencies, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation Ltd. and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd.

 

Though the government has sanctioned procurement of 2.80 million tonnes, the official says it will be content even with less. "While the buffer norm mandates that the consumer affairs ministry must have a chana buffer of 1.0 million tonnes, we are unlikely to get that amount within one season," he admitted.

 

The government's chana stocks were depleted after it failed to procure any of last season's produce owing to lower production and high demand. "Any chana that we had procured in 2023 was depleted in sales of Bharat dal," the official explained. "We now have no stocks left."

 

The government had started selling Bharat Dal in July 2023 by converting the extra chana stock procured under the Price Stabilisation Fund into dal for retail sale at a subsidised price. About 1.20 million tonnes of Bharat chana dal was sold to retail consumers in the first phase. In the second phase, the remaining quantity of 300,000 tonnes of chana was allocated, sources had then told Informist. After chana stocks were depleted, the government in October last year started selling moong and masur dal under the 'Bharat' brand.

 

According to the official, the government aims to buy at least 500,000 tonnes of chana to be able to intervene in the market if prices rise. "It is after almost two years of pulses inflation that prices have come down. The government is not willing to let them rise again," the official said, adding that the government may even buy the legume at market rates if prices do not come down. "While currently the agriculture ministry's Price Support Scheme is being used to procure pulses if they fall below MSP, the government will intervene with the consumer affair ministry's Price Stabilisation Fund," the official said. 

 

The Price Stabilisation Fund was set up in the financial year 2014-15 (Apr-Mar) under the Department of Consumer Affairs to protect consumers from extreme volatility in prices of agricultural and horticultural commodities by maintaining a strategic buffer stock of pulses and onions.

 

The high procurement target of 2.80 million tonnes was sanctioned on account of a robust crop outlook, as the government looked to replenish its depleted stock. The agriculture ministry's second advance estimate has pegged chana production at 11.50 million tonnes, up from 11.03 million tonnes last year. However, prices remain high on continued buying by stockists for use during the festival seasons across the year.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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