Comments
As tur prices firm up, the Centre has set up a committee to monitor the stocks. The Department of Consumer Affairs has constituted a Committee under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary, Nidhi Khare to monitor the stock of tur held by entities such as importers, millers, stockists, traders among others in close coordination with the State governments.
The decision has come against the backdrop of reports of market players not releasing stocks despite regular arrival of imports in good quantities, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said in a statement.
The latest announcement of a Committee to monitor stock disclosure indicates the government’s intention to deal with hoarders and unscrupulous speculators in the market. It also indicates the government’s determination to keep prices of tur under control in months ahead, the statement said.
Close watch
The government is also closely watching the stock position of other pulses in the domestic market to take necessary pre-emptive measures in the event of unwarranted price rise in the coming months. It may be recalled that the government had issued an advisory to the States/UTs on August 12, 2022, to enforce stock disclosure in respect of tur under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
Tur prices have firmed up in recent weeks on a lower domestic crop, which was impacted by excess rains in key producing States of Karnataka and Maharashtra. Modal prices of tur in Latur has moved up from ₹8,000 per quintal on March 16 to ₹8,800 on March 27. Similarly, in Gulbarga the modal prices have moved up by around ₹200 to ₹8,282 during this period.
“There is a genuine shortage due to a lower crop and prices are rising in the mandis. As India is the only buyer of this commodity, the prices in other origins are also increasing. The price rise is going to affect the demand and sale of tur dal will be down,” said Bimal Kothari, Chairman, India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA).
As per the second advance estimates of, India’s tur production was 36.66 lakh tonnes(lt), down 13 per cent from previous year’s 42.20 lt, while the demand is estimated to be around 45 lt. “Prices of tur in Myanmar have moved up in the recent days on depleting stocks and a steady demand from India. Myanmar Lemon tur prices have moved up by around $95 per tonne this month to $1,030 per tonne on Monday. The African supply has almost ended and new arrivals will be from September,” said Rahul Chauhan of IGrain India.
Chauhan expects India’s tur imports for current financial year to exceed last year’s levels of 8.4 lt. In the April-January period of current fiscal, tur imports have risen by 5.6 per cent to 7.31 lt over same period last year’s 6.92 lt.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.