Retail prices for pigeon pea (arhar) are drawing closer to the record levels seen in 2023-24, when they climbed past ₹200 per kg, with unfavourable weather conditions, tighter domestic availability, and higher costs on imported supplies all contributing to the upward pressure, the India Pulses and Grains Association noted in a recent report.
Similar price pressures have spread to black gram and chickpeas, where a projected drop in domestic harvests — combined with a weaker rupee pushing up the cost of imported supplies — has kept upward pressure on markets.
Pigeon pea prices at the wholesale level moved upward over the course of the past week. Trading at Akola's commodity hub in Maharashtra, the commodity changed hands within a narrow band of ₹108 to ₹108.25 for every kilogram. Prices in Karnataka's Gulbarga district settled within a band of ₹103 to ₹113 per kilogram.
IPGA figures show that wholesale rates in certain outlets climbed between ₹17 and ₹19 per kilogram across a 30-day window. Worries about the kharif pigeon pea harvest across Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh — where a stretch of dry and unfavourable weather has weighed on growing conditions — are feeding the momentum behind the latest price rally.
Data from the Department of Consumer Affairs placed the countrywide average retail rate for pigeon pea at ₹127.90 per kilogram as of 11 October.
Tighter availability of black gram out of Myanmar, combined with steeper export pricing and hold-ups at Chennai port, has pushed the commodity's cost upward. Port congestion, according to the IPGA, pushed back vessel berthing times and left less stock on hand for orders requiring prompt fulfilment.
On 10 October, Delhi traders placed Myanmar-origin black gram of FAQ grade at ₹101 per kg, a rate that had climbed from ₹88.75 recorded roughly a month before. Black gram rates on the domestic market held firm — and even climbed — as new-season supplies began reaching traders.
Data from the IPGA indicates that between 60 and 70 percent of freshly harvested supply reaching the market has fallen into poor or average quality bands, a pattern that has pushed prices upward.
Chickpea rates are edging upward in the run-up to rabi sowing, with purchasing activity from traders and processing mills, demand for dal and gram flour tied to the festive period, and a tightening of available supply all lending support to the move. Uncertainty hanging over the next harvest forecast leaves room for conditions to tighten in the months ahead.
Parched soils and a shortfall in rainfall across Maharashtra and Karnataka put chickpea planting at risk this season.
