Rise In MSP & Drop In Production To Escalate Prices Of Dals In Odisha

Cuttack: The prices of different types of dals in Odisha are likely to go up due to increase in minimum support price (MSP) and drop in production.

On Saturday, arhar dal was sold between Rs 111 and Rs 120 per kg and chana dal at Rs 61-65 in the retail market. While the arhar dal used to cost Rs 85-90 per kg, chana dal came for Rs 45-55 in February.

Traders in Malgodam at Cuttack apprehended that price of arhar dal may cross Rs 150 per kg as its production has been affected by unseasonal rains and pest attacks in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh this year. Odisha market mostly depends on these states for import of arhar and chana dal, they said.

The traders pointed said they have started importing the dals from Myanmar, Bangladesh and South Africa to meet the demand. The Malgodam used to get 200 tonne of of arhar and chana dal on daily basis.

Secretary of Odisha Byabasai Mahasangh, traders’ association, Sudhakar Panda said total production of dal has come down from last year’s 2.3 lakh tonne to 2.1 lakh tonne this year. Besides fall in production, stocking of the pulses by the corporate houses would jack up the costs for the consumers, he added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has asked pulses importers to declare their stockpiles and also formed a committee to monitor dal prices.

In a meeting with Retailers Association of India (RAI) and major organised retailers on Saturday, consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told them to calibrate the retail margins in such a way that the composition of pulses consumption by the households is not disturbed for price rise.