★ On 3 December 2025, chana, urad, tur, moong and masur—all pulses—were being sold significantly below the Minimum Support Price. In Latur, chana reached 5,400 rupees, urad 6,200 rupees, and tur 6,700 rupees per quintal, while their MSPs are 5,875, 7,800 and 8,000 rupees respectively. Similarly, moong in Sumerpur is being sold at 7,500 rupees and masur in Sagar at 6,300 rupees, which is much lower than the MSP.

★ The government recently imposed 30% import duty on peas and 10% import duty on masur and chana to stabilize prices, but no improvement is visible in the market. During the kharif season, farmers had already sold moong and urad at lower prices, and now the new tur arrivals have also begun with weak price trends.

★ Rabi season pulses—chana and masur—are also being sold below MSP, even though their sowing is currently in progress. Thanks to good rainfall, farmers are sowing, but the impact of persistently low prices is now becoming visible. The acreage of peas is expected to decline this year because its prices are much lower compared to last year.

★ If farmers do not receive fair prices, why would they grow pulses? If pulse prices continue to remain below MSP and farmers reduce production, the country’s import dependency may increase further, affecting national food security. Constantly falling prices are not only hurting farmers’ income but are also putting the entire pulse industry and trade at risk.

★ There is an urgent need for government intervention in the market. Either effective government procurement should begin, or changes should be made in import duties.