Chickpeas: heavy rains delay sowing
Mundus Agri. Heavy rains and floods have delayed chickpea sowing in most parts of India. Supplies are also low.
Supply chain disruptions
As drought has reduced production in the United States and in Canada, by around 20%, chickpea traders in India are anticipating a supply squeeze. Adverse weather conditions, coupled with Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine and a difficult transport situation on sea have also disrupted supply chains in recent months, especially since Russia and Ukraine are leading global exporters for chickpeas. While Russia accounted for around 25% of global trade before starting the war, farmers in Ukraine were unable to harvest chickpeas this year. Turkey also introduced an export ban for chickpeas in March for food security reasons.
The government in India is finally offering some support to local growers and has introduced an import ban for yellow chickpeas from Canada, which were previously available at highly competitive prices. Aim is to ramp up production in India and sowing has risen by 15% in Maharashtra and in other states. Heavy rains and floods have, however, delayed sowing in most producing states except Rajasthan. Traders reckon it will be impossible to refill the low stocks that prevail in India. Prices will, therefore, remain firm when the new crop arrives.
