Government is set to procure 5,000 metric tonnes of arhar from Malawi in its effort to moderate the prices in the market. Price of arhar has increased by nearly Rs 30 per kg across Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata in comparison to the prices of last year.
The biggest shocker has been the increase in prices of urad. Comparative analysis of the prices of black dal shows how per kg price increase has been over Rs 30 on Monday against the prevailing prices on July 13 a year back.
"We will soon approve the prices at which arhar will be imported. Prices prevailing in Myanmar is higher in comparison to Malawi. Once the government import happens it will have some impact on the market. We will provide this quantity to states and it will be up to them to make it available at affordable prices of people," a government official privy to the developments said.
The government expects to utilize about Rs 35 crore for import of arhar and another 5,000 tonnes of urad dal. This amount will be spent from the Rs 500-crore corpus dedicated for the purpose of stabilizing prices of essential commodities including pulses, onion and potato.
So far only private players had been importing pulses from producer countries. But this year the government took a decision to buy a considerable quantity of the key kitchen item as a market intervention measure.Sources said the tenders for urad will be out soon so that the fresh supply can be made available to states.
Meanwhile, prices of all other pulses including chana, moong and masoor have also increased significantly over the past year. Pulses production is estimated to fall to 18.43 million tonnes in the 2014-15 crop year (June-July) from 19.78 million tonnes in the previous year. This has been the main concern for government.
India produces 18-20 million tonnes of pulses annually and imports 3-4 million tonnes to meet the domestic demand.
TOI has learnt that government believes that potato prices will be stable, while onion prices can be cause for worry this year. "We have sanctioned Rs 10 crore for procurement and import of the two items. If there is a need, necessary steps would be taken," said a government official.
Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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