“The Pulse Atlas is unique - a must for the industry”/
Sunil Patwari on why collaboration is key to progress

Thanks for chatting to us Sunil. To start off, can you tell me a bit more about some of the committees you are involved in with GPC? And what are the members committee working on?

The first committee I was involved with was the speaker committee during the Covid-19 pandemic, where we did a lot of online events to get all of our members more engaged.

The second committee that I was involved in was my dream project – Pulse Atlas. This was not an easy one, but with the support of GPC staff and members, we managed to create and establish a successful base which was very well accepted, received and recognized by the whole industry.

The third is the current committee that I work with which is the membership committee. Our plan and wish for this committee is to grow membership by up to 30-50%, (or hopefully even more!) with the support of all GPC Members. Aside from this, we want to continue having a strong membership committee which, will naturally, help us in gaining and retaining more members.

Can you tell me more about developing the Pulse Atlas? What has been your experience with it and what are your hopes for the future?

Pulse Atlas is a very unique product, and I believe it is must for any industry. The database is invaluable, and as an industry, this is something we lacked before, but now that we have it, it is an excellent tool. 

It is very informative for GPC members - both new and old, and GPC will need to update it on a regular basis to keep it dynamic, relevant and vibrant.

What is the importance of collaboration within the pulses industry? How can we encourage more of it?

Before trading, organizations definitely need to do their own ground work. However, once they have built a base and established themselves, as well as being a member of GPC, this will give them recognition and acceptability within the market. This is because the GPC network connects you with the main pulses players worldwide, opening up a world of collaboration.  

How are emerging markets in Africa doing? Is there steady development and growth there?

Emerging markets in Africa are doing fantastically well, and growing at a great pace.

In terms of pulses, there has been good progress and in recent years there has been very good progress because of high demand from other destinations. 

There were some challenges in Mozambique for shipments and logistics, which were created by them, but this looks to be getting sorted now.

What do the logistics in Africa look like? What are the main challenges when it comes to financial security for investment?

Overall, African logistics are not efficient as there are a lot of delays in vessels, for example, vessels will skip port several times due to waiting time and delays there. In fact, not many carriers call these ports as the overall handling is very slow and poor. So, generally, logistics are always a challenge. 

For investments, financial security is also continuously an issue. There needs to be a good, trustworthy team to handle the investments, and sometimes, even investment ownership can be challenging. Any high risk comes with high rewards – that’s why people invest in these markets.

Are you seeing a lot of growth in Myanmar? What does the market look like there?

Myanmar is going through lot of turbulence at the moment due to the instability of the current political and financial crisis. It’s a very uncertain market; one needs to be very careful here, and to understand that even local corporations are facing many challenges due to current conditions. 

How is Singapore Pulses Federation Limited (SPFL) meeting the growing Indian demand?

The SPFL has members who are established worldwide and SPFL Singapore members handle huge volumes from different countries, such as Canada, Australia, Myanmar, Africa and many others. 

Our members are selling on a regular basis to meet Indian demands and most buyers and sellers have established, efficient and good working relationships with each other. 

How do you expect El Nino to influence production?

Yes, certainly El Nino does impact production, but most of the countries are holding on to their stocks to meet their internal requirements first before they export to mitigate the risks.