Since the production of tur dal is down by almost 10-12 lakh tonnes, the government is looking to procure the same, which could then be sold at rates similar to Bharat Chana Dal to cool off prices, Bimal Kothari, Chairman of India Pulses and Grains Association, said.
Bharat Dal is a major initiative taken by the Union government towards making pulses available to consumers at affordable prices by converting chana stock under the government into chana dal.
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Kothari spoke about rising prices of pulses, what the government intends to do regarding food inflation and more.
He said that prices of most of the pulses have gone up substantially in the last year, especially tur and urad. "But now, tur prices have come down Rs 15-20/kg and chana prices have come down almost Rs 5-6/kg and lentils are selling below maximum selling price (MSP)," he said.
Also Read: Here's how you can buy Centre's affordable chana dal
"Government allowed the import of yellow peas after five years at 0 percent duty, this shows the govt wants to cut food inflation at any cost," he added.
The country's tur output fell by 20 percent to 3.43 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year from 4.29 million tonnes a year earlier. The country consumes about 4.5 million tonnes of tur every year.
Pulses issue in Mozambique
Kothari further spoke about the tur dal issue in Mozambique. More than two lakh tonnes of tur dal is currently stuck at Mozambique ports due to issues with a certain company. "It has been brought to the notice of respective governments," he added.
Tur Imports
Kothari also said that tur will now be imported from Myanmar, as the country is going to harvest the crop from next month. "They have 4 lakh tonnes of crop, and we too will see a production of about 3 million tonnes, even though the crop production is down," he added.
Also Read: Government hopes to reduce tur prices to Rs 130/kg by February
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