The Centre on Saturday said that 6,077 de-hoarding raids had been carried out across India in an effort to rein in the prices of pulses.

About 75,000 tonnes of pulses — a key source of protein for many Indians — have been recovered from hoarders so far, said an official statement, and States had been asked to meet with millers, wholesalers and retailers to make pulses available in markets at reasonable prices.

“De-hoarding operations across the states continued. These have resulted in seizure of 74,846.359 tonnes pulses so far. Total 6,077 raids have been conducted by the states after the amendment in the Central Order under Essential Commodities Act,” said the statement.

The largest haul has been reported in Maharashtra (46,397 tonnes), followed by Karnataka (8755.34 tonnes), Bihar (4933.89 tonnes) and Chhattisgarh (4,530.39 tonnes).

Significant recoveries were also reported from Telangana (2,546 tonnes), Madhya Pradesh (2,295 tonnes), Rajasthan (2,222 tonnes) and Haryana (1,932 tonnes).

The seized pulses, which include tur (arhar), urad and chana, will be offloaded into the market.

“As a result of the de-hoarding drive, the States have reported declining trends in the prices pulses,” the statement added.

Reigning prices

Government data is yet to reflect a significant price decline yet with rates for tur and urad continuing to remain higher than even a week or a year ago.

According to the Consumer Affairs Ministry, as of October 23, average wholesale rates for tur dal in New Delhi and Mumbai stood at Rs.14,800/quintal (100 kg) and Rs.15,250/qtl. 

They were pegged at Rs.13,800/qtl in Delhi and about the same in Mumbai a week ago. A year ago, these rates were Rs.6,900 and Rs.6,750, respectively.

Similarly, average wholesale price of urad was reported at Rs.12,000/qtl in Delhi, higher than Rs.11,250/qtl a week ago and up significantly from Rs.6,600/qtl at the same time last year.

In Chennai, urad wholesale rates have risen by Rs.2,000/qtl from a week before to Rs.17,500/qtl.

Retail prices to continue to remain on the higher side in Delhi with average tur rate pegged at Rs.178/kg, higher than the Rs.163/kg reported three days previously and Rs.81/kg a year ago.

Urad rates edged up to Rs.154/kg from Rs.152/kg three days previously and Rs.145/kg a week ago.

Tur and urad retail prices have softened slightly in Mumbai and are pegged at Rs.175/kg and Rs.160/kg, respectively, lower than Rs.178/kg and Rs.166/kg reported three days earlier.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier told reporters he expected retail prices to soften over the next few days as the recovered pulses made their way into the market.

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