Peanuts: Sudan competes with India

Mundus-Agri: Due to high yields and the fact that Chinese buyers do not pay import duties on Sudanese goods, Indian traders see Sudan as their biggest competitor this season. In India, peanuts from the new crop are increasingly arriving on the markets, but are still disregarded by buyers.

Sudan at an advantage

The Indian peanut market has been fluctuating between stagnation and downward movements in the last few days, but there have been no really big price drops. On the international market, Indian traders see Sudan as the biggest competitor this season; total production in the African country is expected to reach 1.3 million mt and market players reckon that China will be increasingly interested in Sudanese rather than Indian goods. The reason for this is that shipments from Sudan to China are not subject to import duties. For peanut oil, however, Chinese buyers will continue to turn to Indian suppliers. Overall demand currently leaves a lot to be desired, this applies to both the domestic and the export market. Market experts therefore do not expect prices to rise noticeably in the near future.

New crop still too moist

The new crop is increasingly arriving on the Indian markets. However, it is not yet really arousing buyers' interest, as the moisture content is still relatively high – the old crop is currently more appreciated. With some concern, farmers in Gujarat are observing the heavy rains that have been recorded in the cultivation areas for a few days; they increase the probability of fungal diseases of the peanut plants. If the infestation does not occur, the combination of rainwater and a high nitrogen concentration in the soil could, on the contrary, lead to excellent yields. So far, however, no problems have been reported here.