Curated By: Business Desk
Last Updated: September 08, 2023, 16:23 IST
Drought in Canada has reportedly decreased lentil production.
The government has said that the import of lentils from Canada and tur dal from Africa has increased.
The price of many edibles in the domestic market has recently surged beyond the purchasing power of the common man. Last month, there was an exponential surge in the price of tomatoes all over the country. The government has increased its level of awareness over the domestic market’s growing pulse costs. The process of observing and regulating the prices of masoor dal has begun following the initial establishment of guidelines for tur dal.
The government has requested information about the stocks of pulses held by all traders, importers and stockists. Particularly, directives have been made to easily obtain the status of lentil stocks.
Similar measures had been imposed by the government to control tur dal prices earlier in March. All stakeholders are now required by orders from Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary of the Consumer Affairs Department, to give the government the stock data of their masoor dal every Friday. If any stock without relevant data is found, it will be considered hoarding and the relevant legal action will be conducted in accordance with the Commodity Act.
This has been done to protect the consumers from the ill effects of black marketing. The government has said that the import of lentils from Canada and tur dal from Africa has increased. Tur dal was substituted by lentils in restaurants and canteens earlier in April after tur dal’s costs increased. Lentils were then imported more frequently from Australia and Canada as the demand for them rose. Now, the price of lentils has also increased as a result.
Rahul Chauhan, an expert in agricultural commodities, claimed that this year’s drought in Canada has drastically decreased lentil production. Following this, dealers and importers began to stockpile more lentils. In addition, it is anticipated that pulse production may fall as a result of India receiving fewer rains this year. In light of these circumstances, the government has already begun to take action and has enhanced stock monitoring in an effort to keep prices stable on the domestic market.
