Nagpur: Tur dal is scorching up the price list once again. After touching 90 a kg in 2010-11, when it created a huge uproar, the common man’s dal is now priced at 148 a kg in the retail market. This follows a hike of over 40 in less than a month. As wholesale rates have gone through another round of hikes, retail prices are set to cross the 150 mark soon, say trade sources. In some retail outlets, tur has already touched 160. Even a kilogram of dressed chicken is now 20 cheaper than a kilogram of tur dal. Prices have more than doubled as compared to last year, when tur dal was in the range of 68 to 70 a kg even in upmarket retail stores. Traders say the present output of pulses is around 10% less than that of last year. As against 190 lakh tonnes in 2013-14, it was 170 lakh tonnes in 2014-15. Average consumption in the country stands at 220 lakh tonnes each year. Even as the shortfall needs to be filled with imports, rates of imported pulses, especially tur, are on the boil. High tur prices have also led to other pulses spiralling beyond the 100 a kg mark. The government is trying to ease the common man’s burden by importing 50,000 tonnes of white pea to replace tur. The consignment from Canada is expected to reach Indian ports by mid-October, said a local trader referring to a trade journal. Traders are expecting that the fresh crop of moong dal, due for arrival in a fortnight, may help cool the prices. “The fresh crop will be adequate as the acreage has gone up. So it is hoped that people will shift to moong dal, which may come down to around 75 to 80, from over 100 now. Consumers shifting to moong may also help bring prices of tur dal down,” says Pratap Motwani, secretary of Itwari Wholesale Grain and Seeds Merchants Association. Consumers, however, say it will only be out of compulsion. “We are used to the taste of tur dal and it may not be very easy to shift to any other variety,” says Kavya Chaterjee, a housewife. Prachi Dani, a chartered accountant, said tur has been a staple diet and it has become a matter of habit. Motwani said pulses had crossed 100 a kg mark a couple of months ago, but there was a major jump of 30 to 40 in different varieties in less than a month. There is no variety of pulses, except the lowest, which are generally consumed in rural areas, priced lower than Rs100. Even urad, considered to be a luxury as compared to tur, is now cheaper than the latter. In rural areas, peas or locally grown lakhodi is consumed as a cheap alternative to tur dal. It is now 50 a kg, a jump of 8 in one month, he said. There are hopes from the next crop. Pulses cultivation has gone up by 11% at 97.44 lakh hectares as compared to last year. Area under tur has increased by 6% at 32 lakh hectare. Farmers have also planted other pulses like moong or urad as against tur due the short gestation and higher prices. The cultivation area has gone up by 12% and 14% respectively for these two dals. However, fresh tur will not come before December-January. IN A LENTIL SOUP Best quality tur costs 147 after a hike of over 40 in less than a month Lower grades in the range of 135 to 115 a kg Other pulses like moong and urad in the range of 128 and 130 a kg Costly tur pushes up price of even cheaper alternatives like lakhodi dal, usually eaten by poor Production of pulses down 10% as compared to last year Imported whole tur touches 101, processing takes rate equal to domestic variety Fresh moong dal expected in a fortnight. Fresh tur dal to come in Dec-Jan Acreage up by 6% in 2015-16

