Facing a sharp rise in tur prices amid lower production, India will import 12 lakh tonnes of the pulse in the current financial year, up by 35 per cent from the last year’s imports, to boost domestic availability and contain price rise. “Tur is giving us trouble. All-India average retail price of tur is up by 25 per cent to Rs 128.66 per kg when compared to last year’s level. But it will start cooling down after import begins,” Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said in a media briefing on Friday. 

The issue in tur (pigeon peas) is lower domestic production. The country’s tur production remained lower at 30 lakh tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June) against 39 lakh tonne last year. “We consume around 44-45 lakh tonnes in India. Every year, we have to import. This year, obviously, we have to import more. We will import 12 lakh tonnes in the current fiscal,” Mr Kumar said. 

So far, the country had imported 6 lakh tonnes of tur. Imports were undertaken from Myanmar and East African countries. The crop in East African countries would start arriving in August, so the domestic prices would cool down, he added. The country imported 8.9 lakh tonnes during the 2022-23 financial year. 

To check the prices of tur, the secretary said the government had taken several measures. The stock limit imposed on traders, millers and importers on June 2 had helped bring down the prices of tur. “From the day the stock limit was imposed, there is a downward trend in prices,” he noted.