Tur prices up 6.44% in month, Centre to release buffer stock

Karam Prakash

New Delhi, June 30

Amid the rising prices, the Centre on Friday announced that it would release 50,000 tonnes of tur dal, also known as arhar, from its buffer stock in an attempt to cool down the prices. After imposing a storage limit on stocks on June 2, this would be the second major step to bring down the rising tur prices.

The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) has already directed the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF), to release tur through an online auction. NAFED and NCCF are the nodal agencies in India to manage pulses.

Currently, the retail tur price is hovering around Rs 128.41 per kg. The price has risen by Rs 7.79 (6.44 per cent) in a month. With a limited stock in the buffer and no possibility of import until August, the retail price is likely to remain high.

However, the Centre claimed that there had been some decline in the market prices ever since they had imposed stock limits on tur.

“The impact of the decline in mandi prices will reflect in retail prices in a few weeks since the retail sale is last in this chain,” said a senior official.

Tomato prices likely to stay high

Amid the soaring prices of tomatoes, there is no relief is sight in the retail prices of the staple vegetable. The Centre blamed the ‘seasonal hike’ for this sudden rise in prices. According to data maintained by the Department of Consumer Affairs, the average price of tomato on an all-India basis was Rs 49 per kg on June 29.