Low supply, high demand push dal prices; traders see no sudden drop

Traders at Latur’s wholesale market said the higher prices are mostly because of lower-than-expected pulses yields in the kharif and rabi seasons.

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Let's dive into the top five reasons why you should make these versatile ingredients a regular part of your diet. (Representational Photo)

Easy imports and hawkish government policies notwithstanding, pulses continue to trade above the government-declared minimum support price (MSP). Prices of almost all lentils are now above Rs 100/kg in retail markets, with traders not being optimistic about a sudden drop in prices soon.

In retail markets, the price of tur dal is around Rs 150-170/kg, while chana (gram) dal is around Rs 90-100/kg. Moong (Rs 110-120/kg), Masur (Rs 95-100) and Urad (Rs 110-140) are also trading above Rs 100/kg. Almost all the lentils have reported a 4-5 per cent increase in month-on-month prices in the last two months (Source Data from the Price Monitoring Cell of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs).

At the wholesale markets, tur and chana, the two most pulses whose marketing season is about to start, are trading above their MSP. Thus tur prices at Latur’s wholesale market in Maharashtra are around Rs 9,000-10,000/quintal while that of chana is between Rs 5,400-5,500/quintal.

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The MSP of tur and chana for the present marketing season is Rs 7,000 and Rs 5,440/quintal, respectively. Traders at Latur’s wholesale market said the higher prices are mostly because of lower-than-expected pulses yields in the kharif and rabi seasons. Other markets like Indore, Akola and Gulbarga have also reported similar price trends.

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Higher pulses prices remain a cause of concern despite easy imports. Last week, the government extended the duty-free import of masoor for one more year. Around 2.5 lakh tonnes of import of the slated 5 lakh tonnes of tur has arrived in India, while 3 lakh tonnes of tur from Myanmar have arrived.

Recently, the government has allowed the import of yellow peas free of duty till March 2024. This would be a direct competition to Chana, especially besan producers. Traders thus said chana dal prices could correct slightly next year.

Nitin Kalantri, a Latur-based dal miller and trader, said prices would remain on the higher side with some possible corrections in both wholesale and retail prices in the future. “We see prices of tur and chana correcting to some extent soon,” he said.

Parthasarathi Biswas

Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More

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