Prices of pulses to be stable, says association

Prices of pulses in India would remain stable in the next few months due to a fairly good crop last year, according to the India Pulses & Grains Association.

"Last year there was good crop in the country and thus the outlook for prices of pulses is stable," executive committee member of the association Anurag Tulshan told reporters here on Thursday.

India's production of pulses each year is around 17 to 18 million tonnes and demand is of around 22 million tonne, Tulshan said.

He said that volatile prices in the country was due to scarcity and acreage. Tulshan said that the association was requesting the government to make efforts to step up production of pulses so that dependence on imports was negated and prices would come down.

The association also requested the government to include pulses in the PDS so that farmers fetched good prices. If that was done, farmers would be induced to cultivate pulses, he said.

Globally, production of pulses was stagnant at 60 million tonnes, the association said. The annual global convention on pulses will be held in Dubai in April.