Opinion Pulses are dearer
Shortfall in pulse production has spurred inflation. Government must ease restrictions, allow imports
All three are now quoting way above their official minimum support price (MSP) levels of Rs 7,000, Rs 8,558 and Rs 5,335 per quintal respectively. 
Pulses have emerged as the main worry from below-normal monsoon rainfall this time. Not only have farmers sown over 1.1 million hectares or 8.6 per cent less area under arhar, urad, moong and other kharif season pulses compared to last year, the prospects of a not-too-great crop has driven up prices. In the last two months alone, prices of arhar in major wholesale markets have risen from Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,500 per quintal, while climbing from Rs 6,500 to Rs 9,000 for moong and from Rs 4,600-4,700 to Rs 6,100-6,200 for chana.
All three are now quoting way above their official minimum support price (MSP) levels of Rs 7,000, Rs 8,558 and Rs 5,335 per quintal respectively. The chana price increase is significant because government agencies were holding some 3.8 million tonnes (mt) of this crop at the end of its procurement season on June 30. Clearly, the price pressures in other pulses have rubbed off on it as well.
The situation isn’t being helped by international prices. India is not only the world’s biggest producer, but also consumer and importer of pulses. Landed prices of masoor, the largest imported pulse, have soared since late-July, from $650-680 to $780-790 per tonne, with both Canada and Australia set to harvest smaller crops of 1.3-1.4 mt each as against last year’s 1.7-1.8 mt. They have also crossed the MSP of Rs 6,000/quintal for masoor. In the case of arhar, Mozambique has imposed a floor price of $850-900 per tonne on exports, while El Niño is casting its shadow on Myanmar, which is also a supplier of urad to India. One must, therefore, anticipate shortfalls both on the domestic production and imports front.
The government should use the chana stocks that it has judiciously for open market operations. It can even consider limiting the bidders to actual users/dal millers, instead of traders, while allocating quotas prorated to the price offers. In the case of imports, the current restriction of not allowing stocks to be held beyond 30 days from the date of customs clearance is counterproductive. It actually discourages imports, which are necessary at this point. The stock limits are also resulting in imports happening in 25-tonne containers, rather than bigger 30,000-60,000 tonne vessels. Lastly, the government must enable imports of yellow/white peas that, at present, attract a 50 per cent duty plus a minimum price of Rs 200/kg below which they cannot come in. In today’s situation, that is not warranted at all.
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