Food Corporation of India (FCI) will start the procurement operation this week to buy a total of 50,000 tonnes of pulses, including masoor and gram, at a budget of Rs 240 crore. This step has been taken in order to maintain sufficient stocks of lentils. The corporation is expecting to procure chunk of the quantity from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan among other states. The government is also importing pulses and creating the buffer stock to ensure adequate supply in the domestic market and keep a check on prices.
The government had set a target to procure one lakh tonnes of rabi pulses, out of which 50,000 was to be done by FCI and the remaining by NAFED and SFAC. The government agencies have already procured 51,000 tonnes of kharif pulses. Out of this, FCI has procured 20,000 tonne of tur.
Pulse prices continue to remain firm for a second straight year due to production concerns. Pulse output in 2015-16 crop year (July-June) is expected to be 17.33 million tonnes as against the demand of 22-23 million tonnes. The gap is being met through imports.