With Nafed launching urad procurement in Tamil Nadu for the first time, farmers in three districts in Central and northern parts of the State stand to gain. This could be extended in the coming season to the Cauvery Delta districts when arrivals are expected in August, according to reliable sources.

As of now, about 100 tonnes of urad have been procured in Cuddalore, Villupuram and Thiruvannamalai districts where the procurement is on. Here Nafed is procuring through the Regulated Market Yards.

This has received mixed reaction from the trade and industry. A section of the farmers are benefited as the target for now is just about 3,000 tonnes. The market intervention has not benefited overall from the Government’s procurement of pulses.

Prices below MSP

While State-run Nafed is picking up stocks on one side, heavy releases are happening elsewhere by another public sector agency which is dampening the market, say trade representatives.

B Krishna Murthy, a leading miller and Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Pulses Importers & Exporters Association, pointed out that farmers had not been able to sell their produce even at MSP in the market even once during the season over the last one year.

For instance, for urad the MSP is set at ₹5,400 a quintal but in Andhra Pradesh the largest production centre for this pulse, the market price is about ₹4,450 and in Chennai a couple of hundred rupees more.

Traders and millers picked up stocks of urad at about ₹48/kg about 10 days back and in two days prices dropped to ₹47, and then hit ₹44 in a couple of days last week. This has discouraged people from trading, he said. “We are losing thousands on every load by the day,” he said. The government should intervene in the market to support prices and not allow this free fall.

A trader said, “just look at the call for tenders by MMTC, it has been offloading stocks continuously.” The agency seems to be under pressure to sell. While trade reports indicate it has offloaded most stocks of urad, it still continues to sell tur. Only after these stocks are depleted can there be some stability in the market.

An official said the government has made a start in Tamil Nadu. Even at the initial target of 3,000 tonnes procurement, prices have increased from about ₹44 a kg to ₹47. But that is still way below the MSP, point out trade.

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