Stability in retail prices of pulses achieved on account of pre-emptive, proactive measures by Centre

Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution has said that the stability in the retail prices of pulses have substantially stabilized in the past five months and this has been achieved on account of pre-emptive and proactive measures taken by the government.

According to a press release by the ministry on Thursday, the prices of Gram, Tur, Urad and Moong have either declined or remained stable in comparison with last year.

"The CPI inflation for pulses has also seen a consistent decline during the last five months, from 10.01 per cent in June 2021 to 5.42 per cent in October 2021. The pulses inflation rate was as high as 18.34 per cent in October 2021. Similarly, the WPI inflation for pulses has declined from 11.56 per cent in June 2021 to 5.36 per cent in October 2021," said the press release.

The release further said that the stability in the retail prices of pulses has been achieved on account of pre-emptive and proactive measures taken by the government such as taking import of Tur, Urad and Moongfrom restricted to 'Free category' w.e.f May 15, 2021, in order to ensure smooth and seamless imports.

"The Free regime in respect of Tur and Uradhas been extended; the last date for Bill of Lading is December 31, 2021, and for Customs clearance, it is January 31, 2022. This policy measure has been supported with facilitation measures and close monitoring of its implementation by the concerned Departments/organisations. The import policy measures have resulted in a substantial increase in import of Tur, Urad and Moong as compared to the corresponding period for the past two years," said the release.

The release added that the government imposed a stock limit on all pulses except Moong under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, on July 2, 2021. The monitoring of stocks through the web portal continues.

"Among the major pulses, India's import dependence on Masur is high and domestic availability and prices are vulnerable to the overseas production. In order to soften the impact of higher international prices on domestic consumers, the government reduced the basic import duty on Masur to zero and AIDC (Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess) to 10 per cent from July 27, 2021," said the release.

( With inputs from ANI )