Informist, Tuesday, May 14, 2024

By Pallavi Singhal

NEW DELHI – The government may run out of chana for its Bharat dal scheme as the current stock left with the government would only last for another four months, sources told Informist. The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation have been unable to procure chana this year due to higher rates and limited supplies.

"There is a huge demand for Bharat Dal, it is one of the most sought after Bharat brand products. We are worried the government would run out of stock by the end of the second quarter (Jul-Sep) with no procurement looking possible," an official said. Under the Bharat dal scheme, which was launched in July, the government sells chana dal at a subsidised rate of 60 rupees per kg, 18% lower than the then market rate of the lentil. The other products in the Bharat complex are--Bharat atta and Bharat rice.

"Government had last year allocated about 16.5 LMT (1.65 mln tn) of raw chickpea stocks for the supply of Bharat Dal. While the sales took some time to begin, the dal has since been flying out of shelves. We have already exhausted over 800,000 tn of the chana stock," a top government official said. "We have comfortable stocks for the first quarter (Apr-Jun)" the official added.

In its second advance estimate for 2023-24 (Jul-Jun), the government pegged chana production at 12.16 mln tn, against 12.3 mln tn last year. However, traders estimated the production at just 8-9 mln tn, almost 25% lower, according to the India Pulses and Grains Association.

During the rabi season 2023-24 (Oct-Dec), chana acreage fell to 10.3 mln ha against 10.9 mln ha last year due to a decline in sowing in Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Gujarat. "Chana is our most consumed crop amid pulses and acquires a 50% share in pulse consumption basket of the country," the top official said.

"With two consecutive poor monsoons, our stocks have been deeply hit," the official added. As per the Indian Meteorological Department, 2022 was the fifth-warmest year since 1901. Early heatwaves in February 2023 wreaked havoc on grain production coupled with unseasonal rainfall in late March which was followed by a deficient & spatially distributed monsoon due to El Nino conditions.

Prices of chana dal have firmed up and are 81 rupees per kg, up 2% on month in May, as per the consumer affairs ministry’s price monitoring division. "The firming prices are one reason that import duties on chana have been removed. We have thrown our market open, indicating any foreign country to grow it for us," the official said.

"...If a country like Australia or Brazil decides to grow it for us, we will have its supply by September,” the official added. On May 4, the government removed the 66% import duty on desi chana till March 2025, while exempting import duty on yellow peas up to Oct 31. The additional steps come amid pulses inflation ruling in double digits since June last year and recorded a 16.8% hike on year in April. End

Edited by Maheswaran Parameswaran

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