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Informist, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025

 

By Shreya Shetty

 

MUMBAI – Production of pulses in the 2025 kharif season is likely to be lower than last year, primarily due to crop damage by rainfall in many parts of the country, analysts said. The output of tur, the largest kharif legume in terms of both acreage and volume, is pegged at 3-3.4 million tonnes, down from 3.56 million tonnes produced last year, they said.

 

Urad output in the 2025 kharif season could drop to 900,000-1.2 million tonnes, down from 1.3 million tonnes a year ago, analysts said. The production of moong is seen at 1-1.70 million tonnes, down from 1.75 million tonnes a year ago, they said.

 

According to the final 2025 kharif acreage figures, the area sown across India was 4.66 million hectares, slightly up from 4.65 million hectares a year ago, data from the agriculture ministry showed. Urad acreage was 2.44 million hectares, up nearly 7% on year, while moong acreage was 3.49 million hectares, marginally lower than the 3.50 million hectares covered a year ago.

 

In the final leg of the southwest monsoon, multiple regions across the country experienced heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, resulting in the destruction of infrastructure, loss of life and flash floods. Rainfall during the southwest monsoon, which spans from Jun. 1-Sept. 30, was 8?ove normal at 937.2 millimetres, according to data from the India Meteorological Department.

 

An almost two-week pause in the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon meant that the wet spell over most parts of the country persisted, making it feel like an extended monsoon. Typically, many regions of the country experience drier weather as the monsoon withdraws from Oct. 1-15.

 

Several parts of the country also experienced rainfall long after the southwest monsoon had withdrawn on Oct. 16. With very few breaks of continuous sunshine, which could have otherwise dried up fields and kept the harvested crop from spoiling, many states have reported damage to multiple crops.

 

From Oct. 1-Nov. 6, India recorded 120.6 millimetres of rainfall, 44?ove the normal of 83.6 millimetres, data from the weather department showed.

 

G. Chandrashekhar, policy commentator and commodity markets expert, had pegged total kharif production of tur, urad, and moong at 6.4 million tonnes on Sept. 29, down from 6.61 million tonnes produced last year. However, "There could be minor changes to my estimates because of the extended rainfall in October," he said.

 

The output of tur, previously estimated by Chandrashekhar at 3.5 million tonnes, is likely to fall to 3.4 million tonnes, he said. Similarly, he sees the output of urad and moong falling by 100,000 tonnes from his previous estimates to 1 million tonnes and 1.7 million tonnes, respectively.

 

"There are two aspects to the impact on production, the quantitative loss and the qualitative loss," Chandrashekhar said. "We may have the numbers, and yes, the harvest side quantity could be lower, but within that, a part of the crop could be substandard; it could not meet the FAQ (fair average quality)," he added.

 

While production and yield definitely took a hit due to excessive rainfall, it has also affected the quality of a portion of the harvested crop. In the moong market, there is a lack of good quality arrivals, Mukesh Sanklecha, a trader from Solapur, Maharashtra, said. Excessive rainfall in the second half of September damaged the harvested and stored crop, adding moisture to the legume, he said. Currently, the market is receiving only low to medium quality stock, he added.

 

Similarly, Rahul Chauhan, director of IGrain, estimates a sharp drop in total kharif pulses production, pegging it at just 5.8 million tonnes. Chauhan attributes the fall in numbers mainly to crop loss and damage by heavy rainfall. "Pulses and soyabean crop damage reported and production will be lesser than last year," he said, adding, "Rest of the crops yield will be more than last year."

 

Chauhan pegs tur production in 2025 kharif at 3 million tonnes, urad at 1.2 million tonnes, and moong at 1.6 million tonnes.
 

Unfavourable weather and unseasonal rainfall in Maharashtra and Karnataka, the top producers of tur in the country, are likely behind the sharp fall in production estimates of the legume. Around 15-20% of the tur crop may have been damaged by excessive rainfall in Maharashtra and Karnataka, Sanklecha said.

 

Tur production could fall to 2.8-3 million tonnes, said Satish Upadhyay, secretary, India Pulses and Grains Association, quoting market sources. "This year IPGA (India Pulses and Grains Association) could not conduct the estimate survey, but market sources point to a good drop in output, which is mainly due to excessive rainfall," he said.

 

Market sources peg moong output at 1-1.5 million tonnes, while urad output is estimated at 900,000-1 million tonnes, Upadhyay said. Incessant rainfall in Bundelkhand, one of the key producers of the legume in the country, has hurt urad output this year, he said. In Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, which is another key urad producing region, around 50% of the crop was damaged by heavy rainfall. However, the Chandausi region in the same state is likely to see good urad output, he said.

 

In addition to the crop damage, the harvest of the 90-day tur crop has also been delayed due to heavy rainfall, market participants said. In Karnataka, the harvest of the tur crop is likely to be delayed by 15 days, while it could be delayed by a month in Maharashtra, Ashok Gupta, a trader from Akola, Maharashtra, said. Excessive rainfall during the second half of September has left fields and crops with too much moisture, delaying crop growth and, consequently, the harvest.

 

The following table details the 2025 kharif pulses estimates given by the analysts, against the actual kharif pulses production in 2024, in million tonnes:

 

Pulses	2024	2025
	Actual Production	G. Chandrashekhar	Rahul Chauhan	Satish Upadhyay
Tur	3.56	3.4	3	2.8-3
Urad	1.3	1	1.2	900,000-1
Moong	1.75	1.7	1.6	1-1.5

 

End

 

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

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