Dhimant Bhatt

Rates up Rs 50 a quintal since the start of the week. Fears have emerged over reports of three blasts that rocked Myanmar capital Yangon during the weekend.

Mumbai , May 10

FUTURES prices of imported tur (Burma lemon grade) on the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) have flared up by nearly Rs 50 a quintal in the last two days on panic buying by mills, fearing disruption of supply from Myanmar.

Dealers said the fears emerged following reports of three bomb blasts in Yangon, Myanmar's capital during the weekend.Tur May contracts were traded at Rs 1,820 a quintal in intra-day trade on Tuesday on continued buying interest. June contracts were traded higher at Rs 1,894 and August contracts at Rs 1,949.

Trading volume of June contracts on MCX also increased to 1,300 tonnes on Monday from 500 tonnes last week.

"Prices of desi and imported tur in the local market have moved up quickly as supply from Burma may be disrupted for next few days due to bomb blasts. This incident has changed market's sentiment. Prices in Burma market have gone up by $35 a tonne in two days," a broker said.

Tur prices in Burma are ruling at $400 a tonne, up from $365 last week. As a result, landed cost of imported tur (ex-Mumbai) works out to nearly Rs 2,000 a quintal.At the Latur mandi (Maharashtra), lal desi tur spot prices increased by Rs 25-30 a quintal to Rs 1,775-1,830 in two days. Some transactions of desi tur were done at Rs 1,851 a quintal for June delivery. Arrivals at Latur mandi were lower at around 3,000-4,000 bags daily.

"The market sentiment is bullish for the short term. Tur price may go up further as landed cost has increased," a trader said.

Imported tur prices at the Vashi wholesale market have gone up by Rs 25-30 to Rs 1,750-1,811 a quintal, a local trader said.

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