Following a huge fall in chana production this year, the Centre is set to import more pulses.

According to officials, the estimated production of chana during 2006-07 is 5.2 million tonnes against an earlier prediction of 5.7 million tonnes.

Since domestic production is unable to meet growing demand, pulses worth more than Rs 2,500 crore (Rs 25 billion) are imported annually.

While rabi pulses which were expected to make up significantly for the low kharif pulses production in 2006-07, revised trade estimates have pegged total domestic supply (including imports of around 0.01 million tonnes and opening stocks) at only 5.3 million tonnes, as compared to 5.8 million tonnes earlier. The opening stocks of chana this year are at a low of 0.02 million tonnes.

Officials said the revision of estimates was necessitated by a number of factors including an apparent 5 per cent drop in production compared to the first estimates. Major drop in production was witnessed in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

According to traders, the crucial February-April period for chana - as it nears harvest - was marked by sharp weather anomalies, forcing a revision of earlier production estimates. While there was more than normal rainfall in chana regions of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh saw uneven distribution of rainfall. Untimely rains in states such as Uttar Pradesh also led to lowering of the production estimates.

Above-normal rainfall delayed harvest in Rajasthan too, but the increase in water availability improved the yield significantly and prompted commodity experts to revise the chana production in this state from an earlier projection of 0.6 million tonnes to 0.8 million tonnes.

Then there are yellow peas, the cheap substitute for chana. Unlike last year when significant imports were made to keep the price of pulses in check, the price for yellow peas shot up between November 2006 and March 2007.