2024-05-09 11:17:40
India’s decision to allow duty-free imports of chickpeas is unlikely to help lower domestic prices, as even record imports will not be able to offset a large drop in domestic production, industry officials told Reuters.
Indian buyers are turning to the much cheaper yellow peas, which the country has also allowed to be imported duty-free, BTA reports.
Chickpea prices hit a record high of 65,103 rupees ($779.75) a tonne last week and are up nearly 33 percent in a year. Chickpeas account for almost half of India’s total pulse production and are a staple food in the country.
The limited availability of chickpeas in the global market may force India to opt for cheaper imports of yellow peas, which are available in abundance, industry officials said.
“Even if we assume that India buys all available supplies of chickpeas from Australia, Tanzania and other countries, it will not be more than 250,000 metric tonnes,” explains Bimal Kothari, president of the Indian Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA). adding that the production shortfall is much greater.
India has imported about 150,000 tonnes of chickpeas in the 2023/24 season.
The government estimates that this year’s chickpea production could match last year’s 12.27 million tonnes, but industry players estimate about a 25 percent drop in production as the cultivated area is less and yields have also declined due to adverse weather conditions .
Markets are receiving nearly a third lower than normal supply from the new season crop, indicating a drop in production, said Nitin Kalanti, a pulses trader based in Latur, Maharashtra state.
According to Kothari, imported chickpeas are even more expensive because Australian suppliers have raised prices since India allowed duty-free imports.
Australian chickpea prices rose from around A$900 last week to over A$1,100 a tonne this week on hopes of stronger demand from India. However, Indian buyers are not signing new import contracts, says a Mumbai-based dealer.
“With chickpeas, there is no import parity. Instead, traders import yellow peas, which are cheap and used as a substitute for chickpeas,” explains the trader.
India last week also allowed duty-free import of yellow peas till October 31, 2024.
Yellow peas, imported mainly from Canada, Russia and Turkey, are available at half the price of chickpeas and supplies are abundant in the world market, encouraging Indian buyers to increase imports of yellow peas, Kothari said.