Government: Prices of tur and urad declined in the last three months

By Sandy Verma On Nov 27, 2024

New DelhiNew Delhi: Parliament was told on Wednesday that retail prices of arhar and urad have declined or remained stable in the last three months along with decline in wholesale mandi prices. Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution B.L. Verma told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that the Department of Consumer Affairs holds regular meetings with the Retailers Association of India (RAI) and organized retail chains to discuss trends in market and retail prices of pulses, so as to ensure that So that retailers maintain retail margins at a reasonable level. To directly intervene in the retail market, the Government has converted a part of the pulses from the buffer stock into pulses for retail sale to consumers at affordable prices under the Bharat Dal brand.

Similarly, flour and rice are distributed to retail consumers at subsidized prices under the Bharat brand, the minister informed. The condition of Kharif crops is good and harvesting of short duration crops like moong and urad has been completed, while harvesting of arhar crop has just started. He said that the weather has also been favorable for the crop, due to which there has been good supply in the supply chain to the consumers, which is expected to soften the prices of pulses. The Minister said that the stable import policy regime of tur, urad and lentil has been effective in ensuring continuous supply of tur and urad in the country, as the availability of pulses has been maintained due to steady flow of imports and abnormal price rise of pulses has been checked. It started. Department of Consumer Affairs provided assistance to NCCF and NAFED for farmers' awareness campaigns, outreach programmes, seed distribution etc. Government has implemented pre-registration of farmers for assured procurement of tur and urad under Price Support Scheme (PSS) and Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) components of PM-ASHA scheme through NAFED and NCCF. A total of 10.66 lakh farmers have been registered by NCCF and NAFED till November 22.

The minister also said that onion is released from the buffer stock in a calibrated and targeted manner to reduce prices in high-value consumer centers through wholesale markets and retail outlets. Onions are distributed at the rate of Rs 35 per kg to retail consumers through stationary retail outlets and mobile vans in major consumption centres. The Minister said that these measures will ensure availability of essential food items like pulses, rice, flour and onions. Available to consumers at affordable prices and has helped in stabilizing prices.