Even as prices of tur/arhar have started easing with the start of market arrivals of the new crop in States such as Karnataka and Maharashtra among others, the government has sanctioned purchase of 9,66,575 tonnes at minimum support price (MSP) for the kharif 2024 season.

Per Nafed (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Fedration of India Ltd) website, the FAQ sanctioned purchase quantity of tur by the Ministry of Agriculture at MSP is 9,66,575 tonnes for the kharif 2024 season. This comprised sanctioned purchase of 3,95,170 tonnes of tur from Uttar Pradesh, followed by 3,06,150 tonnes in Karnataka. For Andhra Pradesh, the tur procurement quantity has been sanctioned at 95,620 tonnes, while for Telangana, the sanctioned quantity is 1,69,140 tonnes. It is 495 tonnes for Haryana.

The procurement period approved for Haryana is from Dec 1-31, 2024. In all other States, the procurement period is to be approved by the State governments, according to Nafed. MSP for tur for the kharif 2024 season has been fixed at ₹7,550 per quintal.

The mandi arrivals of tur have begun across almost States all major growing states such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh among others.

With the start of the market arrivals over the past couple of weeks, the mandi prices have started easing and are hovering around the MSP levels.

Prices ease

“Mandi prices in Kalaburgi have come down to around ₹8,000-8,500 levels from about ₹11,000 a quintal some three months ago. In other markets such as Raichur and Yadgir, they are lower. Growers will be mainly affected by this price decline. The government needs to regulate the cheaper imports and start the procurement process,” said Basavaraj Ingin, President, Karnataka Pradesh Red Gram Growers Association in Kalaburgi, the main producing region in Karnataka.

Modal prices of tur in districts such as Koppal and Bijapur of Karnataka ruled at ₹7,300 a quintal on December 24, while in Bagalkot it was ₹7,172. In Latur, the modal price was ₹7,800, while in Dudhani market it was ₹7,648 on Tuesday.

Tur growers, who went for higher area this season, have faced challenges like erratic weather and fungal disease outbreak. The price decline during harvest is a concern, Ingin said.

Per the trade, the imported tur from origins such as Mozambique and Kenya among others in the Mumbai market are traded flat in the range of ₹6,200-6,800 a quintal.

Tur production, according to the first advance estimates by the Agriculture Ministry, is expected to be marginally up at 35.02 lakh tonnes over previous year’s 34.17 lakh tonnes.