Tur prices across agricultural produce marketing committee (APMC) yards in Karnataka and Maharashtra have rebounded from the seasonal lows witnessed earlier this month on empty trade pipeline and the government’s move to purchase directly from the farmers for buffer stocks. The rebound in prices is despite the increasing trend in market arrivals.

The modal price, the price at which the maximum trades take place in a mandi, had dropped to a low of ₹8,000 per quintal in early January, easing by over ₹1,000 from the last week of December. They have now rebounded to over ₹9,500 levels. The minimum support price (MSP) for tur for the 2023-24 season is ₹7,000 per quintal.

Buy yet to start

The rebound in prices has given some respite to growers, who were worried about the declining trend earlier. The government had launched a portal on January 4 to procure pulses directly from farmers through agencies such as NAFED and NCCF for the buffer stock at MSP or market price, whichever is higher. “Though the Government has made an announcement, the procurement is yet to start. The procurement should be expedited as the farmers don’t have the holding capacity,” said Basavaraj Ingin, President, Karnataka Pradesh Red Gram Growers Association in Kalaburgi, the main tur-growing region in Karnataka.

In Kalaburgi, the modal price which ruled at ₹8,111 on January 2, touched ₹9,850 on January 20, even as the daily volumes more than doubled during this period. Similarly in Bidar and Yadgiri APMC yards, the modal prices ruled at ₹9,593 and ₹9,760 on January 20 as per the Agmarknet data.

Seasonal high

Also the prices in the mandis of Maharashtra have witnessed a similar rebound trend. In Latur, the modal price touched a seasonal high of ₹10,000 on January 19. The modal price in Latur, which ruled at ₹8,550 on January 2, hovered around ₹9,700 on January 20. “The empty pipeline with the trade coupled with the government’s announcement to procure tur, lesser interest among farmers to sell at lower rates and a rebound in demand at lower rates have pushed up the prices,” said Nitin Kalantri, a miller and trader in Latur. He expects the volatility in prices to continue for some time.

Tur acreages were impacted by the delayed monsoon during 2023 and as per the first advance estimates, the output is expected to be around 34.21 lakh tonnes, marginally higher than the 33.12 lakh tonnes the previous year.

Duty-free import extended

“With expected imports from Mozambique not taking place and the Government’s announcement to procure tur from farmers has lent support to the tur prices in the past couple of weeks” said Rahul Chauhan of Igrain India.

The government has recently extended the duty-free import window for pulses such as tur, urad and lentils till March 31, 2025, to boost domestic supplies and keep prices under check. As per the trade estimates, India’s consumption of tur is around 45 lakh tonnes and the shortfall is met through imports from Myanmar and countries in East Africa such as Mozambique and Malawi among others.