The Centre on Tuesday declared that the 82,462.53 tonnes of pulses seized in various States under the Essential Commodities Act would be made available in the open market within this week to augment supplies and arrest further hike in the prices of tur and urad dals.
Rate not decidedThere was no word, however, on the rate at which these pulses will be made available in the open market. The average price of tur has shot up from Rs. 77 per kg in January to Rs. 200 per kg in some retail markets. Average urad prices rose from Rs. 78 per kg in January to about Rs. 198 per kg.
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On Tuesday, the average retail price of tur was officially reported to be Rs. 191 per kg, while urad was selling at Rs. 190 per kg.
In some States, traders have agreed to offload tur stocks at Rs. 145 per kg in the domestic market while several States have begun selling pulses between Rs. 30 to Rs. 50 per kg through the Public Distribution System.
In Delhi, imported tur is being sold through Kendriya Bhandars and Safal outlets at Rs. 120 per kg.
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The landed cost of imported tur is Rs. 79 per kg while the Centre is giving a subsidy of Rs. 10 a kg on imported pulses. There is no duty on imported pulses. The bulk of pulses imports are done by private trade.
To affect market sentiment, the government has imported 7,000 tonnes of tur so far and is selling it at Rs. 120 per kg.
Meanwhile, pulses importers and millers have urged the government to lift stock holding limits on pulses. The Maharashtra government, for one, has agreed to exempt importers/millers from stock limits.
Pulses prices shot up due to shortage in supplies owing to drought.