Agencies start selling moong at subsidised rate; Government steps moderate onion & pulses prices

Since the government banned onion export and allowed free import of yellow peas, there has been a slight decline in retail prices of these essential commodities. Onion prices have fallen almost 7% in the past one week.
The government, to control prices of pulses, has also started selling moong dal at subsidised rates at the retail outlets of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (Nafed).
Nafed is selling moong dal at Rs 107 per kg, which is Rs 15 less than the price at which it had procured, through its outlets. Soon, subsidised moong dal will also be sold from mobile vans of National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) and Kendriya Bhandars. In the open market, the average retail price of moong dal is Rs 116/kg.
“We expect there will be a significant fall in prices of all major pulses in the next couple of weeks because of free import of yellow peas. We are also confident of onion prices falling further with the arrival of more kharif (summer) crops, which have been harvested,” said an official.

Government data show that average onion prices have fallen to Rs 56/kg compared to Rs 60/kg a week ago. In the case of pulses, the average reduction has been around Re 1 per kilo. Officials said more sales of moong by Nafed and NCCF will have a cooling effect on the prices.
Currently, Nafed has around five lakh tonnes of moong stock against a buffer of one lakh tonne. This “good stock” will help government cooperatives to continue selling moong and chana dals in the wholesale and retail markets at subsidised rates.

This article has been republished from The Times of India.