A look into India's tur problem: Why is this dal always on the boil?
India imports most of its tur dal, also called arhar, from two African nations, Mozambique and Malawi, and Myanmar, and is the third largest importer of tur dal in the world, only behind the United States and Canada.
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What has happened?
Over the past month, the average market price of tur dal has risen by Rs 10 per kilogram, reaching Rs 149 per kilogram. The prices of tur are being bolstered by several factors, including the constrained availability of domestic stocks, delays in the sowing of the kharif crop, and a sluggish pace of imports.
Tur dal in India is boiling at record-high prices and to prevent hoarding and elicit its continuous release, the Central government on September 25 significantly reduced the stock limit for tur, and also urad dal, held by wholesalers and large retail chains from 200 tonnes to 50 tonnes.
The maximum quantity of dal that retailers are allowed to stock remains at five tonnes.
The slashed stock limit is the lowest in recent years and is now applicable until December 31.
What has the government done so far?
The Department of Consumer Affairs is actively keeping a close watch on the stock levels of tur dal. This monitoring is conducted through the stock disclosure portal, and regular reviews are held with state governments on a weekly basis.
In June this year, Rohit Kumar Singh, the secretary of the Consumer Affairs Ministry, had said that India will import 12 lakh tonnes of tur dal in the current fiscal, up by 35 per cent from the last year, to boost domestic availability and contain price rise.
The Indian High Commission in Mozambique issued a statement in August to inform all tur dal exporters in that country that
