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Tur dal prices may remain high for more than a month |
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PUNE: Even as the United Nations declared year 2016 as the International Year of Pulses to increase consumption of this nutritious and 'affordable' source of protein, tur dal may still remain out of reach for the masses for at least two more months. With highly limited availability of discounted tur dal being sold at Rs 100/kg, retail prices are likely to remain firm between Rs 150/kg and Rs 180/kg for more than a month.
Price of the raw material, the whole beans of tur, which is spit into dal after milling, has increased immediately after Diwali by about 10%.
Harvesting of locally grown tur has started on a small scale in Gulbarga in Karnataka. However, traders say that the current arrivals are marginal and will increase only after December 15.
Reacting to the increase in price of whole beans, an importer said, "There is agenuine shortage of tur in the country." However, traders expect a definite downward trend after December 15. The shipments of tur from Africa are in their last leg and another 50,000 tonne tur is likely to land at the Mumbai port by monthend.
"Prices will start declining after December 15 due to the psychological impact of the arrival of new harvest," said Bimal Kothari, vice president, Indian Pulses and Grains Association. This year the area under pulses has increased due to good prices. However, traders have kept their fingers crossed about the production as they fear that the erratic monsoon could have impacted the yields.
Just before Diwali, Maharashtra government had announced to make tur dal available at Rs 100/kg to the consumers. However, due to its limited availability, it created more confusion than giving relief to the customers. "Customers came asking for tur dal at Rs 100/kg. They fought with us that the government was subsidising it but we were not selling it cheaper. Finally, we had to put up boards saying that there is no tur dal to sell," said a retailer from Akola in Maharashtra. The IPGA had supplied about 550 tonne tur dal to Maharashtra government for supplying at discounted rate in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, import of other pulses like chana, masur and yellow peas is expected take place on a large scale in next two to three months. India is all set to receive another 5 lakh tonne of yellow peas, in addition to the 5 lakh tonne it has already received. We will also get 5 lakh tonne chana from Australia and about 5 lakh tonne red lentils, of which 50,000 tonne has already landed in the country. With prices of all the pulses at their historic high, countries supplying pulses to India had significantly increased area sown under pulses.
As against 4 lakh tonne chana grown last year, Australia is expected to harvest 10 lakh tonne chanathis year.
The lack of resolute action to tame dal prices is unacceptable. Course corrections so far have also been warped. For example, the recent hike in the minimum support price of pulses for the rabi season will not suffice to incentivise farmers to grow more pulses. Add to this, the government's track record on procurement of pulses has also been poor. The need is to induce farmers in states such as Punjab and Haryana, where water tables have gone down, to shift to pulses. The incentives should be on par with rice and wheat.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
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