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Informist, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025

 

By Pallavi Singhal

 

NEW DELHI – Even as soil moisture levels remain strong across key producing states, the government is wary of a potential dip in chana output in the current rabi season. There is a reason for the government's caution: farmers have historically shifted from cultivation of chana to wheat in years of excess moisture, according to a senior government official.

 

"The soil moisture is very good this time and the government is concerned of a fall in chana output," the official said. "Our observation is that when moisture is good and it has been a good rainfall year, farmers usually shift from chana to wheat."

 

The official, however, added that the area under chana may not fall sharply this time as farmers continue to have enough incentive to plant the crop after strong price realisations in the past two years. "Thus, we see chana sowing at par with last year," the official said.

 

India's chana production has been declining since it peaked at 13.54 million tonnes in the crop year 2021–22 (Jul–Jun), largely due to reduced sowing area and adverse weather conditions that affected yields. Chana output fell to 12.27 million tonnes in 2022–23 and further to 11.04 million tonnes in 2023–24. For 2024–25, production is estimated to have risen marginally to 11.34 million tonnes, though it remains well below previous highs.

 

Against this backdrop, the government had approved a higher chana procurement target of 2.8 million tonnes for the rabi marketing season 2024-25 (Apr-Mar) as the consumer affairs ministry sought to rebuild its depleted buffer stock. The stock was depleted after the government failed to procure any chana in 2023–24, with production falling sharply and market demand staying strong.

 

"The procurement (for 2024–25) was lower (at about 320,000 tonnes) than we had expected or wanted as prices remained above the minimum support price," the official said. "This, along with the increased minimum support price, is enough incentive for farmers to sow the legume." 

 

To encourage higher sowing in the current rabi season, the government has raised the minimum support price of chana to INR 5,875 per 100 kilograms from INR 5,650 per 100 kg last year.

 

State-wise trends show a mixed scenario. Chana sowing in Karnataka is expected to be on a par with last year, whereas in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, farmers may shift towards wheat, the official said. In Rajasthan, the area under chana is expected to rise.

 

Market participants, however, see an overall rise in acreage. Agricultural economist Deepak Pareek has projected chana acreage to rise by nearly 10?ross Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. He credits the anticipated increase to three factors--favourable soil moisture, consistent prices throughout the sales window, and a positive government narrative on pulses.

 

Asked whether farmers may switch to wheat due to assured procurement under the minimum support price and good soil moisture, Pareek said both wheat and chana acreage could rise simultaneously, replacing oilseeds. "Wheat requires significantly more irrigation than chana, and rain-fed areas such as Rajasthan, the Vidarbha belt in Maharashtra, and eastern Madhya Pradesh may continue to prefer chana," he said.

 

G.K. Sood, chairman of MEIR Commodities India Ltd., said he expects chana acreage to rise by 6–7% to 10.6 million hectares in the current season, with output likely to be 11.5 million tonnes. Rajasthan is seen leading the expansion, followed by Madhya Pradesh. In years of ample soil moisture, temporarily fallow land typically comes under cultivation, resulting in higher acreage across crops, he said.

 

Chana is India's largest pulses crop and accounts for 40–45% of the country's total pulses output in most years. India is also the world's biggest producer and consumer of chana, making its availability a key factor influencing overall pulses supply and price trends.

 

Historically, lower chana availability has been associated with higher pulses prices, directly impacting food inflation. CPI-pulses inflation, which had spiked earlier, eased sharply from 19.54% in January 2024 to 3.83% in December 2024, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. By May 2025, pulses inflation had turned negative, falling to (-)8.22% on year, as imports surged to bridge domestic supply gaps. In the financial year 2024–25 (Apr-Mar), the country imported around 7.3 million tonnes of pulses worth INR 5.5 billion, its highest pulses imports.  End

 

Edited by Subhojit Sarkar

 

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