Government Procurement of Urad Crosses 50,000 Tons
21-Jan-2026 05:21 PM
New Delhi. Government procurement of urad at the minimum support price (MSP) during the current 2025–26 kharif marketing season has crossed 50,000 metric tons and the procurement process is still ongoing. According to senior official sources, efforts will be made to procure an additional 50,000 tons in the coming period. However, the government is concerned about declining production, as this could adversely affect procurement operations.
Officials said that although a plan is in place to purchase at least another 50,000 tons of urad, the government is well aware of the limitations involved. To achieve this target, market prices of urad need to remain below the MSP, supplies must be adequate, and arrivals at government procurement centers must increase. In view of weak production, a significant increase in government procurement of urad in the coming period appears difficult. As per government norms, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is required to maintain a buffer stock of around 400,000 tons of urad.
Domestic production of urad has been declining over the past few years, increasing dependence on imports. India mainly imports urad from Myanmar and Brazil. According to official data, domestic urad production stood at 2.8 million tons in the 2021–22 season, fell to 2.6 million tons in 2022–23, declined further to 2.3 million tons in 2023–24, and slipped to 2.2 million tons in the 2024–25 season. It is noteworthy that urad is produced in both the kharif and rabi seasons in India.
In the ongoing 2025–26 season as well, urad production is expected to remain under pressure. During the rabi season, its sown area has declined by 6% to 458,000 hectares. The government has estimated urad production for the entire 2025–26 season at around 2.2 million tons, almost the same as the output in the 2024–25 season. The Government of India has decided to extend the time limit for duty-free annual imports of 250,000 tons of urad and 100,000 tons of tur from Myanmar for another five years, in order to ensure better availability of these key pulses in the domestic market.