PUNE: Wholesale prices of tur dal have shot up by Rs 6 to Rs 7 per kg in the last 15-20 days because of a 30-40% shortage of the pulse in the wholesale market here.The old tur crop, as well as the new variety, is currently in short supply because of the drought in the state. The retail prices of per kg tur have increased by Rs 10 in the last couple of days.Per kg prices of moong dal in the wholesale market have also increased by Rs 4 in the last 20 days. The impact on retail prices has been more, said sources. Wholesalers said tur was likely to get pricier in the coming days, with an increase of Rs 8-10 per kg in the wholesale market and Rs 10-15 per kg in the retail market.Dhaval Shah, director of Jairaj Group in Market Yard, told TOI that prices of all pulses, except tur and moong, were stable in the wholesale market.“Tur dal has recorded the highest spike in prices in the last 20 days, as arrival of the new crop has dipped by 30% in comparison to the same period last year. Moong dal prices have gone up by Rs 4 per kg in the wholesale market and Rs 5 in the retail market during this period. The rise in the tur prices has been to the tune of Rs 6-7 per kg. It may rise by another Rs 8-10 per kg in the wholesale market during the next one month. The rise in retail price may be around Rs 10-15 per kg during the next one month,” Shah said.Tur dal production in the state has been hit the most because of shortage at the farm level, as the state has the highest acreage under this lentil, he added.Khushal Unecha, owner of Ganpat super market in Gokahlenagar, said, “The retail prices of tur dal went up by Rs 10 on Friday. The tur crop has dipped considerably this time, as not only sowing was delayed but rain was also deficient in 2018. With the sudden surge in price, customers may get panicky and cut down on buying tur.”In the last 15 days, he said, tur prices in the wholesale market have gone up by 10% as the government had last year also hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of moong, tur, urad, masoor and chana or gram.“The MSP of tur was hiked from Rs 5,450 per quintal to Rs 5,675 per quintal. The government has also stopped the import of pulses since a year, which is creating further shortage at a time when around 50% of the tur crop has failed,” he said.An Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) official said tur prices in the Pune APMC market have gone up by Rs 6-7 in the last seven days, while that of moong by Rs 2-3 in the last four to five days.Vijay Rathod of Mulchand and Sons, a wholesale firm in Market Yard, said tur prices in the wholesale market have shot up by Rs 500 per quintal since Monday. “The new tur crop arrivals are 40% less than what they were during the same period last year,” he said.Nitin Nahar, a wholesaler and director of the Federation of Associations’ of Maharashtra , said pulse prices in the wholesale market were expected to rise further during the next one month.In 2017, over-production of tur in Maharashtra had led to a grave situation for farmers, compounded by what they considered a “faulty” government procurement system. Consequently, numerous farmers in the pulse growing belt of Marathwada and Vidarbha had planned to cut down on tur sowing.The production of tur during the few years preceding 2017 was quite low. This led to an increase in the prices of the commodity. But the good rainfall in 2016 and government initiatives to increase production of pulses led to a glut in tur production. Both the areas and productivity of tur increased significantly, causing a crash in its prices. In 2018, a drought-like condition caused an opposite situation with a shortage of the pulse.

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