Tur procurement at MSP picks up, says Government

The government said Thursday that procurement of tur (arhar/red gram) at minimum support price (MSP) has picked up in the key producing states.

The procurement has already started in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana and a total quantity of 1.31 lakh tonnes of tur has been procured in these states till March 11, benefitting 89,219 farmers. The procurement of tur in other states will also commence very soon, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.

The government has fixed an MSP of ₹7550 per quintal for the 2024-25 season. However, with the pick up in market arrivals, the prices of tur have been ruling below the MSP levels. Modal prices of tur in mandis across the producing states are ranging between ₹4950 to ₹7600 per quintal.

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Tur procurement is also done from pre-registered farmers on eSamridhi portal of NAFED and aSamyukti portal of NCCF. The government is committed to take up procurement of tur 100 per cent from the farmers through central nodal agencies namely NAFED and NCCF, the statement said.

In order to incentivize the farmers contributing for the enhancement of domestic production of pulses and to reduce the dependence on imports, the government has approved the procurement of tur, urad and masur under Price Support Scheme (PSS) equivalent to 100% of the production of the state for the procurement year 2024-25.

The government has also made an announcement in Budget 2025 that the procurement of Tur (Arhar), Urad and Masur would be undertaken 100 per cent to the production of the State for another four years upto 2028-29 through Central Nodal Agencies to achieve self- sufficiency in pulses in the country.

Accordingly, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has approved the procurement of tur, masur and urad to the extent of 13.22 lakh tonnes, 9.40 lakh tonnes and 1.35 lakh tonnes respectively. Singh has approved the procurement of tur in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh under the Price Support Scheme for the Kharif 2024-25 season for a total quantity of 13.22 lakh tonnes.

Tur production for the crop year 2024-25 is estimated at 35.11 lakh tonnes, a tad higher than the previous year’s 34.17 lakh tonnes, as per the second advance estimates. In a bid to boost the domestic supplies, the government has also kept the import window open and has allowed duty-free imports of tur till March 31, 2026.