'Pulses may go onion way; El Nino big worry for production'

If El Nino weighs on the monsoon and rains are deficient, the production of pulses is likely to get severely hit and affect the households' budget the way onion brought tears to the common-man, says an Assocham study.
The major pulse-producing states - Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, which together account for about 80 per cent of the total production, may witness less rainfall, affecting its output and prices.
"India's high dependence on imports, higher prices and declining per capital availability of pulses have been matters of concern," it said.
The demand-supply mismatch of pulses is putting further pressure on the prices of this staple food and therefore, timely precautionary steps need to be taken, it said.

Despite the rise in production in the last three years, domestic demand is likely to continue to be more than the supplies in coming years, it added.
After four years of normal and above normal monsoon, India is expected to have below normal Monsoon this year with rainfall projected to be at 95 per cent.

Officials in the weather department had earlier said that the monsoon is expected to be below normal because of the El-Nino effect, which is generally associated with the warming of ocean water.
Taking into account this forecast, the study said India is expected to produce around 21 million tonnes (MT) of pulses till 2016, while demand is projected to touch around 23 MT in the next few years.

Pulses are grown in an area of 22-23 million hectares with an annual production of 13-18 million tonnes. The country accounts for 33 per cent of the world area and 24 per cent of the world production of pulses, it said.