Prices of urad (black matpe), which witnessed an uptrend a few weeks ago, have started easing on hopes of better crop prospects with the acreage improving across Central and North India and weak demand from millers. Urad area is up by 10 per cent as of July 31 at 21.08 lakh hectares (lh) compared with 19.8 lh a year ago, even as the overall pulses area trails last year’s levels.
Urad acreage has seen an increase of around 61 per cent in Uttar Pradesh at 5.52 lh as of end-July (3.42 lh in same period last year), while in Madhya Pradesh it has increased by 16 per cent to 6.72 lh (5.79 lh). Rajasthan has seen a 20 per cent increase at 3.75 lh (3.11 lh) and Gujarat 40 per cent at 0.71 lh (0.50 lh). In Jharkhand, the urad area has improved by 72 per cent to 0.44 lh (0.26 lh) and Chhattisgarh by 21 per cent to 0.58 lh (0.45 lh) and Andhra by 43 per cent at 0.16 lh (011 lh). However, in Karnataka, the area has declined by 25 per cent to 0.71 lh (0.95 lh) and Maharashtra by 50 per cent to 1.76 lh (3.58 lh).
As per the Agriculture Ministry data, the All India average wholesale mandi prices of urad have eased to Rs 8,638 per quintal as of August 3 compared with Rs 8,908 per quintal a week ago and Rs 8,980 two weeks ago. About three weeks earlier, the All-India average wholesale prices of urad touched a recent high of Rs 9,132.55 per quintal from about Rs 8,233 a month earlier.
