Monday, Jun 8, 2020

--Source: For 2020-21, govt procures 1.25 mln tn chana as of Thu
--Govt may wrap up procurement of chana by end of June 
--Govt aims to procure 2.22 mln tn chana in 2020-21

By Kaushal Verma

NEW DELHI – The government has procured over half of the targeted 2.2 mln tn of chana for 2020-21 (Apr-Mar) marketing year from nine states under price support scheme, as of Thursday, a government official said. 

"The Centre has set chana procurement target this year at 2.22 mln tn while procurement as of Jun 4 was 1.25 mln tn... Efforts are being made to procure the rest quantity by the end of this month under the PSS (price support scheme)," the official said, adding, the procurement is over 56% of the target.

The government, through its nodal agency National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India, has been procuring chana harvested in 2019-20 (Jul-Jun) rabi season from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana.  

Under the price support scheme, the government's agencies procure crops at the minimum support price to arrest falling prices in physical markets. The procurement drive has benefited around 700,000 farmers under the price support scheme.

Around 127,915 tn chana was purchased in Andhra Pradesh, 101,843 tn in Karnataka, 279,346 tn in Rajasthan, 167,831 tn in Maharashtra, 419,005 tn in Madhya Pradesh, 89,876 tn in Gujarat and the rest from Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana, the official said.  

Besides NAFED, Food Corp of India, and Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium also procure pulses and oilseeds to ensure farmers get minimum support prices for their produce. 

Chana prices declined as supply of the new crop to domestic markets is gathering momentum as the government has exempted procurement from the nationwide lockdown to limit the spread of the coronavirus, traders said. 

NAFED is procuring chana from growers at the minimum support price of 4,875 rupees per 100 kg after the states requested the Centre to check the decline in prices, the official said. Reports of higher production this year could further weigh on the prices, the traders said.

Currently, chana is being sold at 4,175-4,200 rupees per 100 kg in key spot markets, they said. 

According to the farm ministry's third advance estimates, the 2019-20 chana output is seen at 10.9 mln tn, up from 9.9 mln tn a year ago. Private players also expect the output to be higher.

Chana, the largest grown rabi pulse, is sown in Oct-Dec and harvested in Mar-Apr.  End

Edited by Aditya Sakorkar

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