Govt plans to boost pulses supplies to check rising prices

With pulses prices rising by up to 64 per cent in the last one year, the government plans to increase supplies to rein in prices as it looks at steps to keep inflation down amid forecast of deficit monsoon.

“... there is an issue with pulses these days, because there has been an impact on the crop, also of international prices. So, the Principal Secretary has held a meeting, so that supply is increased to bring down prices,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters.

He was speaking after inaugurating a multi-media exhibition to mark one year of the Narendra Modi government. Stating that inflation has come down, consumer as well as wholesale, he said: “Sometimes, in a particular season prices of some commodities rise, like with vegetables. Seasonal considerations are there and with the change of season the price comes down.”

Pulses got costlier by up to 64 per cent in last one year across major metro cities, primarily due to fall in domestic production. Pulses production is estimated to fall to 18.43 million tonnes (mt) in the 2014-15 crop year (June-July)) from 19.78 mt in the previous year.

India produces 18-20 million tonnes of pulses annually and has to import 3-4 million tonnes to meet the domestic demand.

Import stood at 3 million tonnes in 2013-14, while it is estimated at 3.4 million tonnes in the last fiscal. In the last two years, imports have been through private traders only.

Amidst forecast of poor monsoon for the second straight year, the government is considering importing pulses through state-owned trading firms such as MMTC to boost domestic supply and check the rise in retail prices.

According to the data maintained by the Consumer Affairs Ministry, the maximum increase in retail prices was witnessed in urad in the past one year, while tur, masoor, gram and moong dal prices have also shot up.