Canadian peas to arrive

The pulses prices in the domestic market may ease with the arrival of 93,000 tonnes of yellow peas (white matar) of Canadian origin by this weekend.

Public sector cooperative Nafed is expecting the arrival of 48,000 of yellow peas by December 22 while state-owned trading firm PEC hopes the shipment of about 45,000 tonnes of the pulses will reach Indian ports in next two-three days.

"We expect the remaining quantity of the 145,000 tonnes contracted yellow peas to arrive by December as we have already received 97,000 tonnes," a senior Nafed official said.

Yellow peas constitute the largest share in India's pulses import basket leading to its prices in Canada surging to $550 a tonne from $300-350 a tonne in a year.

Out of the total pulses import of over 743,000 tonnes from Canada in 2006 (January-December), peas have a share of 703,000 tonnes where yellow peas corner major 97-98 per cent.

Canada hopes to export over one million tonnes of pulses to India in 2007 calendar year, an industry body official said.

Meanwhile, state trading agencies "" Nafed, STC, MMTC and PEC "" have contracted to import 1.23 million tonnes till December 12. Out of this amount, 799,000 tonnes of pulses comprising urad, yellow peas, tur, masoor, chana and moong have arrived since April this year.

The government had asked these PSUs to import 1.5 million tonnes during April-December this year while subsidising them 15 per cent of their import cost.

Out of the 1.23 million tonnes contracted pulses, yellow peas constitute the maximum at 813,000 tonnes while the remaining are urad, tur, moong and masoor.

STC has contracted to import 260,000 tonnes of yellow peas out of which 223 tonnes have already arrived in India while PEC have brought into the country over 83,000 tonnes from its contracted 190,000 tonnes.

MMTC has contracted for 203,000 tonnes of yellow peas and the arrival stood at 168,000 tonnes.

Government-owned cooperative NAFED has contracted for import of 160,000 tonnes of yellow peas and the arrival so far is 97,760 tonnes. Since the actual shipment may be 10 per cent more or less of the contracted quantity, Nafed is expecting an arrival of a total 145,000 tonnes of yellow peas.