Seeking to ensure that a pulses like price rally does not arise for other farm products, the Survey has made a case for strict vigil on their prices.

The Survey said that currency shortage has also affected supplies of certain agricultural products, especially milk (where procurement has been low), sugar (where cane availability and drought in the Southern states will restrict production), and potatoes and onions (where sowings have been low).

“Vigilance is essential to prevent other agricultural products becoming in 2017-18 what pulses was in 2015-16 in terms of supply deficiencies and consequential higher inflation,” it added.

Prices of pulses, a source of protein for majority of the vegetarians in the country, had flared up last year on supply shortfall fuelling food inflation while forcing the government to go imports to augment supplies and incentivising the farmers to produce more. President Pranab Mukherjee in his address to the Parliament said the pulses prices are under control after the government took pro-active steps. Also the acreage under kharif and rabi crops has risen this year on account of favourable monsoon after consecutive years of drought.

The government has created a buffer stock of 20 lakh tonnes of pulses, against which 8 lakh tonnes have already been procured, he said.