The Union government plans to release 40,000 tonnes of tur dal from its buffer stock into the retail market in small lots, in order to cool down the recent hike in pulses prices.
Key takeaways
Major consuming centres (Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar and Tamil Nadu) of urad and tur dal have seen a 20% hike in prices recently.
At an all-India level, the average retail prices of urad have shot up almost 40% in comparison to 2019, while the average retail prices of tur dal have increased by almost 24%.
The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) has introduced retail intervention.
It is a mechanism to use the buffer stock of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED).
For such retail intervention, offer prices are fixed on the basis of MSP itself.
The DoCA has also decided to release 40,000 metric tonnes of tur from the buffer stock in Open Market Sale (OMS) Scheme in small lots so that the releases may reach the retail market sooner and help in cooling off rising prices.
Important value additions
National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India
Objective: To promote cooperative marketing of agricultural produce to benefit the farmers.
Agricultural farmers are the members of the General Body of NAFED, who participate in the decision-making process.
Minimum Support Price
It is the rate at which the government buys grains from farmers.
Objective: To counter the price volatility of agricultural commodities due to the factors like variations in the supply, lack of market integration and information asymmetry.
It is fixed on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
