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New Delhi: Prices of pulses are likely to remain firm in the coming days, with an expected shortfall in the production of pulses this year.
Retail prices of moong and tur have already jumped Rs 4-10 a kg in the past 15 days.
“There is likely to be a 10 per cent drop in pulses output this year,” said a senior agriculture official.
“Ground reports suggest a downfall in the production of rabi (June-September) pulses.
In kharif pulses also (October-March), the area under cultivation had dropped from 157 lakh hectares to 149 lakh hectares till last week.
Cold waves and untimely rains may further damage the standing crop.”
There had been a bumper crop of pulses in the past two seasons which prompted India to cut down on imports as well as export the excess quantity.
In 2016-17, India produced 23.13 million tonnes of pulses, followed by an even better crop size of 25.23 million tonnes in 2017-18.
There was a steep jump of around 150 per cent in pulses exports, with India shipping out 2.15 lakh tonnes during April-November 2018 from 87,896 tonnes during the same period the previous year.
“In 2018-19, the production is likely to be 22 million tonnes, just enough to meet India’s requirement of 25 million tonnes, with a buffer stock of 36 lakh tonnes,” the official said.
