Tur dal output may drop 40%

The production of tur dal is likely to drop 40 per cent in Karnataka this year following the late arrival of monsoon in major tur dal growing areas. Northern districts like

Gulbarga and Bidar, which account for around 80 per cent of the tur dal output in Karnataka, are expected to produce about 1.7-1.8 million quintals during the current season, which has just commenced. In 2007-08, Karnataka produced close to 3 million quintals of tur dal.

According to Karnataka Tur Development Board (KTDB) officials, the drop in tur dal output has been attributed to the late arrival of monsoon and a subsequent delay in sowing of the crop. As a result, the height of tur plants was less than normal at below four feet, leading to lower yields. Also due to cyclone effect there were pest attacks in some growing areas of northern Karnataka. This resulted in a drop in the flowering of the crop and subsequently, a dip in the production, RT Kamat, managing director, KTDB, said.

As against the normal cultivation period of June, farmers began sowing tur only in August this year, a delay of around 45 days. This year, the area under tur dal has also decreased 10.2 per cent to 328,837 hectares in Gulbarga and witnessed a minor rise of 5.8 per cent to 73,693 hectares in Bidar. While, the production of tur dal in Gulbarga is expected to decline by around 40 per cent to 1.5 million quintals in the current year, Bidar is likely to produce close to 300,000 quintals.

“We have commenced the procurement of tur dal for the current season. As of now, we are getting around 10,000 quintals per day. The KTDB board will meet during the first week of January and take a decision on opening of procurement centres in both Gulbarga and Bidar depending on the quantity of daily arrivals. During peak season daily arrivals will touch around 50,000 quintals,” Kamat told Business Standard.

According to him, the prices are likely to go up at least Rs 300 per quintal in the open market during the initial days. The KTDB is currently paying a minimum support price of Rs 2,000 per quintal as against Rs 2,160 last year. The commodity is currently fetching Rs 2,800-3,000 per quintal in the open market.

He, however, expects the prices this year to not fall below Rs 2,500-2,600 per quintal due to the crop shortage.

In 2007, the prices were ruling at Rs 2,400 per quintal during the peak of the season and were traded at Rs 3,200-3,400 during August-September of 2007.

Four taluks of Gulbarga district such as Jewargi, Gulbarga, Aland and Afzalpur are pooled in at Gulbarga while the crop grown in Sedam and Chittapur are traded at the respective APMCs.

Tur dal is also grown in other districts like Bijapur and Raichur as a main crop, whereas in other parts of the state it is grown as an intercrop. The area under cultivation in Bijapur is around 8,000-10,000 hectares.