Government’s Record Purchases and Imports Help Stabilize Tur Prices
Record Government Procurement of Tur Fails to Raise Mandi Prices
Despite a record amount of tur procured under the Price Support Scheme (PSS), mandi prices remain 10-12% below the Minimum Support Price (MSP), owing to an abundant domestic harvest and lower imports from countries like Africa and Myanmar. Since February 2025, retail prices have plummeted by 25%, and by April, tur inflation turned negative.
In the 2024-25 fiscal year, India imported over 1.1 million tonnes (MT) of tur from various nations, including Myanmar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Tanzania. Even though government bodies such as Nafed and NCCF have been purchasing a substantial volume of this premium pulse variety under the agriculture ministry’s PSS, mandi prices remain considerably under the MSP.
According to traders, factors like continuous imports and a bumper crop have contributed to the decline in tur prices after witnessing two years of increases. Just one week before the completion of the tur procurement under PSS in major producing states—Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Gujarat—the total procurement so far this season reached 0.59 MT, marking the highest level since the 2017-18 season.
Current mandi prices are reported to be 10%-12% lower than the MSP of Rs 7,550 per quintal, with domestic market rates hovering around Rs 6,600 per quintal, while the landed cost of imported tur from Myanmar and African nations stands at Rs 6,220 and Rs 5,600 per quintal, respectively. A prominent trader in Latur, Maharashtra, remarked, “The combination of plentiful domestic output and continuous imports, despite significant procurement efforts, has led to a downturn in tur prices.”
In the 2017-18 season, government agencies procured 0.87 MT of tur. Due to a decrease in production in the last two years, mandi prices ranged between Rs 9,000 and Rs 10,000 per quintal, significantly above MSP, leaving agencies unable to bolster buffer stocks. Data from the price monitoring cell of the department of consumer affairs indicated that as of Monday, the modal retail prices for tur have dropped to Rs 120 per kg, a decline of 25% from Rs 160 per kg recorded in February 2025.
Additionally, the retail inflation rate for tur (arhar dal) exhibited a negative trend (-9.84%) in April year-on-year, attributed to a higher base effect. In its recent third advance estimate, the agriculture ministry projected tur output for the current crop year to be 3.56 MT, which surpasses the 3.41 MT from the 2023-24 crop year. Nevertheless, trade analysts expect the production figures could exceed projections by 10% to 15% this year.
Amid expectations of a strong kharif harvest, the government extended its free import policy for tur until March 31, 2026. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan emphasized that the objective of this policy is to boost domestic pulse production, diminish reliance on imports, and incentivize farmers. The government has approved the procurement of tur, urad, and lentil under the Price Support Scheme at 100% of state production for the procurement year 2024-25 under PSS.
