Govt to further import 80,000 MT Masur, 90,000MT Tur

The Dollar Business Bureau

In a bid to buffer stock of pulses, the Government of India has directed a further import of 80,000 MT masur and 90,000MT tur.

The development was given a green signal during a meeting of Price Stabilization Fund, which reviewed the procurement and distribution of pulses from buffer stock. The meeting was chaired by Union Consumer Affairs Secretary Hem Pande.

The government will be fetching the pulses via imports to the tune of 1, 81,000 MT, out of which 36,000 MT have already arrived. The domestic market and farmers have also contributed to the stock with 1,20,000 MT pulses.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has asked the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to sell the pulses, Tur and Urad, through their outlets in cities other than Delhi.

Presently, Tur and Urad are priced at Rs 105 per kilograms and Rs.120/kg respectively.

The purpose of the meeting was also to ensure procurement of pulses directly from farmers during the current Kharif season. It also divulged on increasing the number of procurement centres to 417 which may be further increased, if required.