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Informist, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025

 

By Pallavi Singhal

 

NEW DELHI – India's chana supply situation remains comfortable despite the onset of the lean season, a senior government official said, adding that imports from Australia are expected to ease availability of the legume in the coming months. The lean season for chana typically runs from October to February, between the end of the monsoon and the arrival of the new crop in markets.

 

As per the official, the government does not see prices of chana rising, as there is ample availability. "We had been able to procure enough chana last season, and with Australian imports likely to begin soon, we do not see prices rising," the official said. The government had concluded its chana procurement in July, purchasing 320,000 tonnes of the commodity, well below the sanctioned target of 2.8 million tonnes, Informist had reported exclusively.

 

India's chana production has been on a downward trend since peaking at 13.54 million tonnes in the crop year 2021–22 (Jul-Jun), mainly because of a fall in the sowing area and adverse weather conditions, which have affected yields. Output fell to 12.27 million tonnes in the crop year 2022–23 and further to 11.04 million tonnes in 2023–24. For 2024–25, production is projected to have risen marginally to 11.34 million tonnes but still well below previous highs.

 

Amid this decline, the government approved a higher procurement target as the consumer affairs ministry moved to rebuild its depleted buffer stock.  The stock was depleted after the government failed to procure any of the chana output in 2023-24 as production fell and demand was strong. "Though the procurement was lower (for 2024-25) than we had expected or wanted as prices remained above the minimum support price, we haven't had the need to use the stock so far," the official said, noting that festival season demand, too, did not exert pressure on prices this year. "So we are in a comfortable zone, price-wise."

 

Asked whether the government was planning an early intervention in 2026 to avoid procurement delays, the official said discussions with the agriculture ministry are on. "The procurement process depends on state participation under the Price Support Scheme," the official said. "The Centre does not directly elicit procurement. It is initiated by the states. Unless they activate procurement centres, procurement can't begin." According to the official, the government is likely to sanction a similar target when procurement of chana begins in 2026.

 

On imports, the official said that last year India had bought about 1.4 million tonnes from Australia and this year it is likely to be the same. Imports, the official clarified, are being handled entirely through private trade, with no government-to-government contract in place. The country had imported a total of 1.6 million tonnes of chana in the financial year 2024-25 (Apr-Mar), improving availability and lowering prices. Chana prices, which were ruling at about INR 6,500 per 100 kg in December, fell to about INR 5,500 per 100 kg by February as imports rose. The minimum support price for chana is INR 5,650 per 100 kg.

 

According to Rahul Chauhan, director at IGrain India, about 40,000 tonnes of Australian chana consignments are already in transit. "We expect contracts for at least another 350,000 tonnes to be signed in November," Chauhan said. "The bulk of shipments are expected during Feb–Mar." The market broadly expects total imports of about 1.5 million tonnes this year.

 

The official also attributed the stability in chana prices and the absence of concern about domestic shortages to the duty-free imports of yellow pea. "Yellow pea acted as a partial substitute for chana in processed food products and helped to keep prices low," the official said. "A lot of namkeen and packaged snack makers shifted to yellow pea flour... we even saw yellow pea being accepted as a replacement for tur in the southern states."

 

The Centre had, in December 2023, scrapped the import duty on yellow peas. In FY25, India imported 2.16 million tonnes of yellow peas, up 85% from FY24. Imports of yellow pea were the highest among all pulses.

 

Despite the reimposition of import duty on yellow peas, the official sees no change in the situation. "There is enough availability of yellow pea in the country... prices should not rise," the official said. The Centre recently imposed 30% import duty on yellow peas, effective Nov. 1.

 

The official said the government remains confident about the overall pulses scenario. "The situation this year has been quite comfortable across commodities, including chana," the official said. "But that's when things often turn--we are keeping a close watch." Retail chana prices in Delhi were steady at INR 5,925-INR 5,950 per 100 kg Thursday.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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