To reduce the prices of urad, moong and arhar dal, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has asked pulses importers to declare their stockpiles. The ministry has also formed a committee to monitor dal prices.
In a meeting with Retailers Association of India (RAI) and major organised retailers, the consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told them to calibrate the retail margins in such a way that the composition of pulses consumption basket of households is not disturbed by price rise. The average retail price of tur dal has increased by 11.12 per cent to Rs 115 per kilogramme in the country in the last one year as per the data maintained by the consumer affairs ministry.
Since February till now, the price of Arhar pulses has increased by about Rs 1200 per quintal. In February, arhar was widely available at Rs 8,550 to Rs 9,000 per quintal, but since then the price has increased to Rs 10,500. Prices are under pressure as the country’s tur production is estimated to be lower at 36.66 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), as against 42.20 million tonnes in the previous year as per the agriculture ministry’s second estimate.
