When half of all consumers are trapped in a low-productivity agrarian economy, exposing them further to agricultural price volatility would be criminal.
To directly impact the retail market, the government has released a portion of its buffer stock of pulses, repackaged as dals, for sale at affordable prices under the Bharat Dal brand.
Irregular rains in key tur growing areas of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, and the open import policy is discouraging farmers from growing the pulse.
The prices of pulses like tur, urad and moong are hovering near the Rs 100/kg mark in retail and wholesale markets. This is around 10-15% lower than the peak this year.
MSP for mustard is up 8.6%, followed by masur (7.84%) and gram (2.54%). Wheat MSP has just risen by 2.02%, as govt attempts to encourage crop diversification.
Indian refiners are testing Venezuelan barrels again as Russian supply sinks, but analysts say volumes will remain limited due to refinery constraints & supply capacity.
This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they’d seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe.
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