Govt directs retailers not to keep “unseasonable” profit margin on tur dal

Concerned over rising tur dal prices, consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh on Friday directed retailers not to keep their profit margin on pulses, especially tur dal, at “unreasonal level”. In a meeting with Retailers Association of India (RAI) and major organised retailers, the secretary told them to calibrate the retail margins in such a way that the composition of pulses consumption basket of households is not disturbed by price rise.

“He directed them to ensure that retail margins for pulses, especially tur dal, are not kept at unreasonable level,” an official statement said.

The retail industry players expressed their commitment to extend full cooperation with the government and also assured that all efforts will be made to keep prices of pulses under control.

Today’s meeting with retail association and major organised retail chains is part of the series of meetings that the department had with stakeholders across pulses value chain to ensure availability and affordability of pulses for consumers.

Meanwhile, the department is closely monitoring the stock disclosure of traders and importers in order to check hoarding.

The average retail price of tur dal has increased by 11.12 per cent to Rs 115 per kilogramme in the country in the last one year as per the data maintained by the consumer affairs ministry.

Prices are under pressure as the country’s tur production is estimated to be lower at 36.66 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), as against 42.20 million tonnes in the previous year as per the agriculture ministry’s second estimate.

Tur is mainly a kharif (summer) crop. The country imports some quantities of the pulse to meet the domestic demand.