THE BIG PICTURE
THE BIG PICTURE
as Australia and Tanzania. However, 2016 saw a very different outlook for profits – December 2016 ended with record high desi prices, something not true in 2024. The bottom drops out On October 10, chickpea prices from Australia to India and Australia to Pakistan both sat around $820-830/MT. By November 15, not only had imports slowed, but the prices into India and Pakistan had plummeted to $670/MT and $700/MT, respectively. So, what happened? Well, many factors are in play. Deepak Pareek, Agricultural Economist, believes the price drop is normal in what had become an overheated market, saying: "There was too much speculation and desi chickpea prices skyrocketed to more than 60% above Minimum Support Price (MSP). In my view, this is a correction, and
nothing more." Overspeculation does chime with the thoughts of Binod Agarwal of SGR Commodities, who believes Indian buyers have bought more than they need: "Demand has slowed because buyers have covered more than their capacity. They bought at every price decrease, but then the market dropped. Most of the major festivals here are over, but the market hasn't picked up as expected. Domestic sales are good but at a disparity as the forward price in rupees is lower – prices may go up in November/December as farmers will need chana for seeding." Over buying may not be the only story. Faisal Anis Majeed of Bombi Group describes Pakistani buyers as "waiting for the bottom of the Australian market" before they come back in for more imports. Majeed also stresses that yellow
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