Importers book Myanmar tur for lean season TRACKING PULSES

Pulses importers have started booking tur in large quantities in Myanmar to ship into the country as and when the government opens up imports, possibly early next year.

Trade sources said corporate buyers, including multinational companies, had booked 300,000-400,000 tonnes of tur in Myanmar, one of the world’s largest exporters of pulses. They are planning to store their inventory in Myanmar till the government lifts restrictions on imports.

Till July, pulses importers were bringing the entire purchases directly to India. In August, the government restricted imports of tur in order to arrest its falling price and to help farmers with better realisation.

Indian traders’ presence in Myanmar will not only ensure tur supply during the lean season but also control its price. Indian consumers paid ~200 a kg for tur dal in April 2016.

“Indian traders have booked a large quantity of tur in Myanmar in anticipation the government will open its import during the lean season. These traders had booked large quantities in the domestic and international markets in early 2017 in anticipation of rising prices but they burnt their fingers. Now they want to use the sharp price fall in Myanmar to import tur during the weak supply season next year provided the government opens up its import,” said Sri Prakash Overall tur scenario in India Particulars Production Consumption* Import 2015-16 Goenka, chairman, U Goenka & Sons, a pulses importer.

Myanmar’s pulses and beans output is estimated at 5.1 million tonnes, of which the country exports 1.4 million tonnes. India imports almost the entire quantity of tur from Myanmar. Tur prices have slumped by half to trade currently at $250 (~16,500) a tonne in Myanmar following the Indian government’s decision to restrict its import.

With bumper domestic production estimates, tur (whole grain) in the Latur spot market slipped to ~3,400 a quintal in July, 38 per cent below the minimum support price (MSP) of ~5,450 a quintal, inclusive of a ~200 bonus announced by the government for 2017-18. After a (million tonnes) recovery on the import ban, tur prices slumped again to ~3,650 a quintal in Latur. Tur dal is trading at ~6,000-6,200 a quintal in major mandis across the country.

“Imports will happen, whether the government likes it or not. Tur is in short supply, it is not available anywhere except Myanmar and a couple of African countries. India’s demand is much higher than the global tur production, so prices are going to remain firm,” said an importer.

The agriculture ministry forecasts the 2017-18 tur output at 3.99 million tonnes, lower than last year’s output of 4.78 million tonnes. India’s annual tur consumption is estimated at 5.5 million tonnes, nearly 20 per cent of the consumption of pulses overall.