The government has decided to extend the stock holding restrictions placed on the tur and urad varieties of pulses beyond October 31 as prices continue to remain high. The department of consumer affairs reports that on Wednesday, the modal retail price of tur increased by 45% to Rs 160/kg from the price at the start of the year. Retail costs have now exceeded Rs 170/kg in a few of areas, nevertheless.
Retail prices for modal urad increased by Rs 110/kg on Monday, an increase of 10% from six months ago’s pricing.
The government had set stock holding restrictions of 200 tonnes for wholesalers, 5 tonnes for retailers, 5 tonnes per outlet, and 200 tonnes at the depot for large chain shops. The stock holding restrictions for importers prevent them from keeping stock for more than 30 days beyond the date of customs clearance. At Latur, Maharashtra, mandi prices of tur are currently above ‘11,500/quintal, highest since 2016, compared to the minimum support price of rs 7,000 quintal for the 2023–24 season (July–June).
Traders predict that prices would increase further the following month as demand increases and domestic crops are predicted to be weak due to insufficient rains and a smaller kharif area. Up until December, there should be a monthly supply of about 0.1 million tonne (MT) of tur dal, but this won’t be enough to lower prices. According to the agriculture ministry, this year’s seeding decreased by 5.6% to 4.3 million hectares, and crop harvesting is anticipated to begin in November.
For the crop year of 2022–23 (July–June), the government forecasts an 18% decrease in tur production, coming in at 3.43 MT as opposed to 4.22 MT the year before. It produces 27.75 MT of pulses, or around 16% of the nation’s total production, in 2022–2023. In comparison to the prior crop year, urad production declined by 6% in 2022–23, to 2.61 MT. In August 2023, the retail inflation rate for tur dal increased to 32.2% on a year-over-year basis, driving the inflation rate for pulses to 13.4%. Last month, the annual rate of urad inflation was 6.82%.
