Competition from wheat and mustard keeps chickpeas acreage in check in India

this major pulse crop. Industry analysts note that higher residual soil moisture and discussions of a possible bonus over the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat are influencing planting patterns in Madhya Pradesh. Farmers are increasingly leaning toward wheat as a more profitable crop under current market conditions. “Current prices are not very encouraging for farmers to plant chana. Another challenge is that the forward prices we are receiving from Australia are about 10% lower than the MSP,” said Satish Upadhyay, Secretary of the India Pulses & Grains Association. Experts believe that despite local shifts in sowing patterns, the overall acreage under chana in the country is likely to remain close to last year’s levels. Future trends will largely depend on market prices and government support mechanisms such as MSP or bonus payments. Market participants also point out that competition from mustard, which maintains stable prices and strong demand from processors, may further ...