Tur dal prices in Karnataka slowly increase

Tur crop under water due to heavy rains in October 2020 in Chittapur taluk of Kalaburagi. 

Heavy rains and flash floods have damaged the tur crop across Kalaburagi. 

As if soaring fuel and LPG cylinder prices were not enough, consumers are now witnessing prices of tur dal, a key and affordable source of protein for the masses, slowly inch upward.

Heavy and untimely rains in 2020 and the recent amendment to the APMC Act have triggered a severe shortage of pulses, especially 'tur dal' (red gram), across Karnataka.

The shortfall has already pushed the cost of one kilo of tur to Rs 100-Rs 110 in the retail market, with prices expected to touch Rs 140 to Rs 150 ahead of the Ugadi festival, according to traders.

Being one of the largest producers of pulses, Karnataka lost a whopping 66% of standing tur crop to untimely rains in 2020.

Adding to the woes, several private players have begun to ‘hoard’ the dal after directly procuring it from farmers through agents following an amendment to the APMC Act. As a result, tur dal has become expensive.

Kalaburagi APMC Secretary Shailaja MV revealed that the APMC has witnessed a 50% drop in the supply of tur ever since the amendment to the Act. On an average, the APMC market was receiving about 15 lakh quintals of tur every year.

Amarnath C Patil, former President of Hyderabad Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HKCCI), said that some traders, through agents, are already purchasing pulses directly from farmers and transporting it to Latur in neighbouring Maharashtra for hoarding.

Basavaraj Ingin, President of Karnataka Red Gram Growers Association, said private companies had already booked farmers through an NGO in Kamalapur for procurement. "A few others are directly selling the produce in the Latur market for a good price. While about 50 truckloads of tur was going to Maharashtra, it has only increased now,” he said.

Shivasharanappa Niggudgi of Tur Mills Association said, “Several mills have stopped work due to a shortfall in supply.”

Kalaburagi district alone contributes about 50 to 60% of tur production in Karnataka.

Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, President of Bangalore Wholesale Food Grains and Pulses Merchants’ Association, said the "shortage is likely to remain until the next season, thus pushing the prices up to Rs 150".

He said with "festivities around and tur being the sought-after pulse, prices will only go up.”

After a bounteous monsoon, tur was sown in a whopping 4,47,404 hectares of area. But the untimely rains damaged the standing crop in 3,15,461 hectares.

Talking about the impact of rains, Dr Rathendranath Sugur, Joint Director of Agriculture, said, “Rains have reduced the yield to a mere 25 lakh quintals as against the annual average of 45 to 50 lakh quintals."