Tuvar Prices Dip Amid Steady Surge in Imports

24-Jul-2025 12:27 PM

Mumbai. Due to record procurement from farmers for the Central Pool and uninterrupted duty-free imports from countries like Myanmar, Mozambique, and Tanzania, the domestic supply of tur (pigeon pea) has improved significantly.

As a result, prices have fallen below the minimum support price (MSP). The MSP for tur in the 2024–25 season is set at ₹7,550 per quintal, but current wholesale prices have dropped by nearly ₹1,000 or 14%, reaching ₹6,500 per quintal, causing substantial losses to farmers.

This sharp price decline is impacting farmer sentiment. Despite an increase in the MSP to ₹8,000 per quintal for the 2025–26 season and the government's assurance of 100% procurement at MSP, the sowing area for tur is lagging behind last year. The drop in prices is discouraging farmers from planting this key Kharif pulse.

Interestingly, as Indian prices dipped, offer prices in exporting countries also declined sharply. The import price of tur from Myanmar is now about 18% lower than the Indian MSP, and from Mozambique, it's around 24% lower. The government has extended the duty-free import window for tur until March 31, 2026, further adding to domestic supply pressure.

In a record-setting move, government agencies NAFED and NCCF procured nearly 6 lakh tonnes of tur from farmers at MSP during the 2024–25 marketing season under the Price Support Scheme (PSS), which was launched in 2017–18.

In the first two months of the 2025–26 fiscal year (April–May), tur imports jumped to 1.80 lakh tonnes—an increase of 54% over the 1.10 lakh tonnes imported during the same period in 2024.