Prices of tur (red gram) continue to rule below the minimum support price (MSP) levels in Karnataka, though procurement of the pulses crop is seen registering a 10-fold increase in the current year over the previous high.
As a result, the State is approaching the Centre to increase procurement by another 1.5 lakh tonnes while extending the purchase period by a month.
“The procurement we have done this year is mind-blowing,” said Karnataka Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda.
“We have crossed 2 lakh tonnes till March 28 and expect the procurement to exceed 2.4 lakh tonnes by April 8, which is about 10 times higher than the previous high. We are approaching the Centre to procure an additional 1.5 lakh tonnes for the buffer stocks and extend the procurement deadline by a month.”
The previous highest procurement of tur in Karnataka was 25,000 tonnes in 2013-14. Production of pulses in the State, including tur, has risen by a third to 14 lakh tonnes in 2016-17 on higher acreages.
Meanwhile, the Centre has procured 1.68 million tonnes of pulses as of Tuesday, out of the targeted 2 million tonnes for its buffer stock, CR Chaudhary, Minister of State for Food, said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
Of the total pulses procured, 3.79 lakh tonnes were from imports.
Despite an increase in procurement, prices continue to rule below the MSP of ₹5,050 per quintal across many markets in Karnataka on higher arrivals. “Prices are still ruling at ₹3,500-4,500 per quintal in various markets,” said Basavaraj Ingin, President of the Karnataka Tur Growers Association in Gulbarga, the major producing region.
Though the Centre has recently imposed a 10 per cent duty on imports to arrest the price fall, growers feel the quantum of duty is insufficient to have any impact, mainly on account of a bumper output.
“We are urging the Centre to impose a duty of minimum 25-30 per cent on tur imports,” Ingin said.
Tur production in the country is estimated at 4.23 million tonnes for the 2016-17 season, almost double the 2.56 million produced last year.
Higher prevailing prices of pulses during the planting season in 2016 kharif had prompted farmers to switch acreages in favour of pulses, resulting in a bumper output.