Urad prices softening in wholesale market after supply boost: Govt

The government on Wednesday said urad prices have started to soften in the wholesale markets of Delhi and Indore on the back of its efforts to boost supply and reports of higher sowing in the ongoing Kharif season.

The area under coverage for urad has reached 5.37 lakh hectare till July 5 of this ongoing Kharif season compared to 3.67 lakh hectare last year.

"The consistent efforts of the Department of Consumer Affairs have resulted in softening of urad prices," an official statement said.

The central government's proactive measures have been pivotal in stabilising prices for consumers while ensuring favourable price realisation for farmers, it added.

The anticipation of good rainfall is expected to boost the morale of farmers, leading to the production of a good crop in major urad-producing states such as Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra.

"As on July 5, 2024, the area sown for Urad has reached 5.37 lakh hectare, as compared to 3.67 lakh hectare for the corresponding period last year," the statement said.

The 90-day crop is expected to experience a healthy Kharif production this year, the government hopes.

Ahead of the Kharif sowing season, there has been significant momentum in the pre-registration of farmers through government agencies such as NAFED and NCCF. These agencies will procure urad from farmers.

These efforts are part of the government's strategy to encourage farmers to shift towards pulse production during the Kharif season and make India self-sufficient.

In Madhya Pradesh alone, a total of 8,487 urad farmers have already registered through NCCF and NAFED.

Meanwhile, other major producing states such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh have seen pre-registrations of 2,037, 1,611, and 1,663 farmers respectively, indicating widespread participation in these initiatives.

The procurement of summer urad under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) by NAFED and NCCF is in progress.

As a result of these initiatives, as of July 6, 2024, the wholesale prices of urad have witnessed a week-on-week decline of 3.12 per cent and 1.08 per cent in the Indore and Delhi markets respectively.

In alignment with domestic prices, the landed prices of imported urad are also on a declining trend, the government said.