Minister of State for Agriculture Sanjeev Balyan announced on Friday that the government will purchase 30,000 tonnes of tur and 10,000 tonnes of urad through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed) to create a buffer stock.
Procurement costs
The pulses will be purchased from farmers at market rates. While the new urad crop arrivals are expected in November, tur will only reach the markets by mid-December to early-January.
Nafed’s procurement and storage costs will be borne through the ₹500-crore Price Stabilisation Fund.
“This is a first step and will benefit both farmers, who will get prevailing market rate, and consumers who will see prices being affordable since it will be controlled,” said Balyan.
The average wholesale price of tur stood at ₹13,800/quintal in New Delhi on Friday, ₹2,000 higher than a month ago. Average spot price for urad was at ₹11,250 – up 39 per cent from six months ago.
“We don’t expect prices to remain this high when the new crops come into the market. Generally, rates fall almost to minimum support price levels at the time of arrivals,” he added.
Consumers have been paying ₹158/kg on average for tur although higher prices were reported across stores in New Delhi. Reports indicated prices having shot up to ₹190/kg in other parts of the country.
New crop arrivals
The Minister blamed the price spurt on a 2 million tonnes (mt) shortfall in pulses production in 2014-15 and market manipulation by private traders.
Trade sources told BusinessLine that retail prices of tur were not expected to reduce till the new crop arrives even with the government importing the pulse.
It has imported about 5,000 tonnes of tur through the MMTC Ltd. so far with 2,500 tonnes each lying at the Chennai and JNPT Mumbai ports.
Contracts for the purchase of a further 2,000 tonnes is likely to be finalised soon. Around 1,000 tonnes from JNPT is expected to reach New Delhi soon.
“The stock at the Chennai will service Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the only States to have asked for stocks so far. From the stock in Mumbai, 1,000 tonnes is expected to reach Delhi and will be sold at Safal stores at ₹120-130/kg,” Balyan explained.
Data sheet
Overall imports for 2015-16 are pegged at 4.1 million tonnes (mt), lower than the 4.58 mt purchased in 2014-15. Domestic consumption is estimated 22 mt annually.
Total domestic pulses production is estimated at 18.32 mt, with tur output likely to be lower than last year, while moong and urad production is expected to increase.
Crop sowing up
With 99 per cent of kharif sowing complete, area under the season’s crops is 1.3 per cent higher at 1,038.81 lakh hectares (lh) than at the same time last year, according to the latest estimates released by the Agriculture Ministry.
While rice acreage has declined marginally, coverage by pulses is up about 12.5 per cent, led mainly by moong and urad sowing.
Area under soyabean, the season’s main oilseed, is up nearly 6 per cent, but cotton, jute and mesta acreages continue to remain below last year’s figures.
Source : The Hindu Business Line