Worried over rising price of pulses, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has offered approximately 8.47 lakh metric tonne from its buffer stock and  will sell foodgrain to States at market price to boost domestic availability and ensure stability in prices.

The average prices of pulses are ruling at Rs 60-95 per kg in major cities, but maximum rate of urad is as high as Rs 140 per kg in some parts of the country. The Centre has offered 3.2 lakh tonne of tur (arhar), 2 lakh tonne of urad, 1.2 lakh tonne of chana, 1.5 lakh tonne of moong and 57,000 tonne of masoor.  The country's pulses production stood at 234 lakh tonne in the 2018-19 crop year, down from the record level of 254 lakh tonne in 2017-18

According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, retail prices of 20 out of the 22 essential food items, tracked by the Government increased continuously during the current calendar year. There here has been significant increase in the prices of three major pulses -arhar, urad and moong while gram prices have largely remained stable.  

The decision in this regard was taken during a meeting chaired by Consumer Affairs Secretary Avinash Srivastava to review prices and availability of pulses across the nation. According to the Ministry data, the average price of chana is ruling at Rs 65 per kg, tur Rs 85 per kg, urad Rs 95 per kg, moong Rs 85 per kg and masoor Rs 60 per kg across major cities. However, the maximum rate of chana is Rs 88, tur Rs 110, urad Rs 140, moong Rs  120 and masoor Rs 100 per kg.

 "The Department of Consumer Affairs that maintains buffer stock of pulses for the Union Government under the Price Stabilisation Mechanism has offered about 8.5 lakh tonne of pulses to state governments at average market rates," an official statement said. "The purpose is to ensure an increased overall availability of pulses in the market across India and also to ensure that prices remain stable," it said.

Also, the rabi (winter) crop may fall, given that prolonged monsoon and resultant floods have delayed the sowing activity - on a year-on-year basis, the winter-sowing of pulses is now down a fifth.

According to trade sources, the pulses crop in 11 lakh hectare out of a total kharif pulses area of 130 lakh hectare have been damaged in the September-October floods. Since India's pulses production just meets the annual domestic demand of about 240 lakh tonne, any production shortfall could impact prices rather directly, although the buffer stocks could give some cushion.