India: Government to increase procurement of tur dal to tame prices

The government plans to sharply increase its procurement of tur dal from a few metric tonnes to around 8-10 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) to keep prices of the commodity under control in a year when the acreage under the pulse has shrunk and production is expected. to be low, said a senior official.The all India retail price of tur dal jumped over 40% from Rs 112 per kg last year to Rs 158 per kg this year, according to government data.Retail inflation in pulses as a category rose to 18.79% year-on-year in October mainly due to a sharp spike in prices of tur, chana and moong, against 6.61% food inflation in the same month. This is despite the government's effort to increase the imports from African nations and Burma by scrapping the import duty on tur in March.The procurement will happen through the Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) at market rates, which is much higher than the minimum support price (MSP), the official said, asking not to be identified.The purchase will be done through ...