January 18, 2022
In our continuing series of conversations, the senior editor at the Hindu Business Line provides an update on rabi sowing progress, discusses the COVID-19 situation in India and takes us behind some of the recent headlines.
1. Let’s begin by recapping the latest official rabi sowing figures. Could you run through the breakdown by pulse type and share your thoughts on what these figures might mean for the market? ?
2. Last month, we talked about how excessive rains impacted the quality of some pulse crops. What has the weather been like since then??
3. Recently the government extended the import deadline for some pulses through March of this year. Could you give us a sense of the volume of pulse imports so far this financial year and what you foresee in the first quarter of 2022??
4. The state of Telangana was also in the headlines. Growers there were being discouraged from growing paddy and encouraged to sow alternatives like pulses instead. But many say their fields are not suitable for anything but paddy. How might that situation resolve??
5. There was a headline earlier this year that food companies and dealers were stocking up on essentials, including pulses, in case of COVID-related government restrictions. What is the COVID situation like in India with the new Omicron variant and what other impacts is it having on the pulse sector??
6. In late December, the government of India banned agricultural futures trading. How do you see that playing out and what might it mean for the pulse sector??
7. Lastly, the Modi administration has been promoting zero budget natural farming, but there has been some criticism about this being an unproven technique and concerns raised about productivity. Does this have the potential to be the future of agriculture in India?
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