Pulses Price Hike: In the last few months, the government had warned the retail industry several times about the prices of pulses not decreasing in the retail market despite the prices decreasing in the wholesale market and had asked them to reduce the prices. In the wholesale market, the prices of all pulses, be it tur dal, chala dal, masoor or urad or moong, have decreased by 5 to 20 percent, but despite all the efforts of the government, the prices in the retail market are still high. Now the government has again come into action regarding this.  

The government put pressure on retailers to reduce prices 

Officials of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Food Supplies recently held an important meeting with the Retailers Association of India and large retail chain companies regarding the prices of pulses. The government has expressed its displeasure over the prices of pulses not coming down in the retail market despite the instructions. Now the government has started pressuring the retailers to reduce the prices of pulses by 15 to 20 percent. The government feels that the wholesale market prices and the retail prices of pulses indicate that retailers are making higher margins. If the prices of pulses do not come down, the government can also consider increasing the sales of Bharat Dal in the open market.  

Pulses did not become cheaper in the retail market 

In the wholesale markets, the prices of tur and urad have come down by an average of 10 to 20 percent in the last few months, but the retail prices remain the same. According to the Price Monitoring Division of the Department of Consumer Affairs, tur dal was available at Rs 153.79 per kg on 22 December 2023, which is available at Rs 157.06 per kg on 22 December 2024. Chana dal was available at Rs 83.44 per kg a year ago, which is now available at Rs 93.09 per kg. 

Retailers are profiteering!

Urad dal was available at Rs 123.03 per kg on 22 December 2023 last year, which is now available at Rs 123.38 per kg. Moong dal was available at Rs 116.47 per kg a year ago and is now available at Rs 113.02. The price of masoor dal was Rs 93.97 per kg a year ago, which is now available at Rs 88.55 per kg. Even the gram dal which the government sells as Bharat Dal was available at Rs 79.93 per kg a year ago and is now available at Rs 88.12 per kg. This clearly shows that despite the reduction in wholesale prices, consumers are not getting the benefit of the reduction in prices.