As the new Tur (arhar) crop hits the mandis of Karnataka and Maharashtra, bringing down prices, growers have urged the Centre to start market intervention at the earliest to stabilise prices.

On Tuesday, the modal price for Tur in Lingasugur in Karnataka, and Akola in Maharasthra, touched a low of ₹3,000 and ₹4,875 per quintal, respectively, breaching the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹5,050 announced by the Centre.

Prices of Tur, which ruled around ₹9,100-9,500 a quintal in various markets in early June, have crashed to around ₹5,000, and have been hovering around the MSP of ₹5,050 per quintal for the past few days.

In fact, growers said the prevailing bearish trend in key pulses markets such as Akola and Latur in Maharashtra, and Kalaburagi in Karnataka at the start of the harvest could intensify as market arrivals pick up.

In anticipation of a bumper crop, traders have started liquidating old stocks, which has in turn influenced prices ahead of new market arrivals.

Arrivals set to peak

Market arrivals of Tur are expected to peak next fortnight, when harvesting picks up across key growing regions in Karnataka and Maharashtra.

“The rates have been declining by the day and minimum prices are currently hovering around ₹4,200 a quintal, much lower than the MSP of ₹5,050. We want the Centre to start market intervention immediately,” said Basavaraj Ingin, President of the Karnataka Tur Growers Association in Kalaburagi.

Further, Ingin demanded that the Karnataka Government announce a remunerative price of ₹7,000 per quintal to encourage Tur growers in the region.

At present, Tur market arrivals in Kalaburagi are mainly from the neighbouring district of Vijayapura, where production of Tur has caught up in recent years with farmers shifting to pulses.

Besides a bigger crop, the prevailing cash shortage could also exert pressure on farmers to sell their produce immediately after the harvest, growers said. Farmers have planted a record acreage under Tur this year, raising expectations of a bumper harvest.

“One of the main reasons for the price fall is the massive imports that the Centre and traders have contracted from various countries. In a bid to protect domestic growers from the price fall, the Centre should immediately start procurement,” said Chamaras Malipatil, State President of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha.

To keep prices under check, the Centre earlier this year had allowed imports at zero duty and approved creation of a buffer of 20 lakh tonnes for market intervention.

According to the first advance estimates of the Agriculture Ministry, production of Tur is expected to be at an all-time high of 4.29 million tonnes in 2016-17, against the targeted 3.62 million tonnes.

Tur production stood at 2.46 mt in 2015-16 and at 2.81 mt the year before that. Total production of pulses is estimated at 8.70 mt over the previous year’s 5.54 mt.

Trade sources say that buyers are adopting a cautious stance and resorting to need-based purchases as the market anticipates a surge in arrivals.

However, consumers may have to wait for some more time for prices to fall further.

A good monsoon and higher market prices during the planting season, coupled with an increase in support prices, prompted farmers to increase the area under pulses this kharif season by 30 per cent.

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