Rs. 400 crore to set up a buffer stock of pulses

30,000 tonnes of tur and 10,000 tonnes of urad to be procured from farmers.

Private importers are expected to purchase 4.1 million tonnes of pulses this year against 4.58 million tonnes imported last year.

Sending a strong signal to hoarders and speculators, the Centre on Friday announced its decision to set up a buffer stock of pulses from this year’s kharif marketing season at an estimated cost of Rs. 400 crore from the Price Stabilisation Fund.

The government authorised the National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to procure — as and when pulses harvest comes in November and December— 30,000 tonnes of tur and 10,000 tonnes of urad from farmers at prevailing market rates and sell in the open market.

This will be so that the farmers are not put at a disadvantage viz-a-viz the price of imported dal. The landed cost of tur, for instance, is around Rs. 69 per kg while the minimum support price is about Rs 46.25 per kg.

Relief in sight

For consumers relief may come within this week from tur and urad (dhuli) sold at around Rs. 120 per kg at Kendriya Bhandar and Safal outlets. Otherwise, tur is selling at Rs. 180 per kg and urad at Rs 150 per kg in the open market.

“We want to ensure that farmers get remunerative price for dals,” Minister of State for Agriculture Sanjeev Balyan said after a meeting with top officials. He ruled out the possibility of government stocking creating a shortfall in the market and affecting prices further.

The Agriculture and Consumer Affairs secretaries later attended a meeting in the Prime Minister’s Office to review the situation.

Mr. Balyan said half of the imported 5000 tonnes of tur and urad that have arrived will be sold in Chennai and Andhra Pradesh who have raised a demand and the rest in Delhi and Mumbai. Most states have not sought pulses imported on government account, depending on private importers to supply the market. The government agencies have floated tenders for another 2000 tonnes of pulses.

Private importers are expected to purchase 4.1 million tonnes of pulses this year against 4.58 million tonnes imported last year. There is zero duty on pulses import as India is perpetually in short supply owning to traditional neglect of pulses production.

The Minister said that there was an additional shortfall of two million tonnes of pulses this year as production last year was 17.38 million tonnes as against 19.20 million tonnes in 2013-14. This year pulses output is expected to be 18.32 million tonnes as against an average total demand of 22 million tonnes.