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Informist, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025

 

By Pallavi Singhal

 

NEW DELHI – The central government is pushing to advance the procurement of tur under its price support mechanism as early as January to ramp up purchases amid low market prices and build buffer stocks ahead of peak arrivals, two government officials with knowledge of the matter told Informist.

 

According to one of the officials, preparations for procurement are underway at the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd., central agencies which execute purchases under the price support scheme.

 

To speed up procurement and prevent delays, the central agencies--which usually operate through state agencies and local procurement bodies--will also buy directly from agricultural markets. This will cut out the intermediary layers and enable tighter farmer verification through digital systems, the official said.

 

SANCTIONS AWAITED

While preparations are on, the final procurement window and quantity sanctions from the agriculture ministry are still awaited for most major tur-producing states, including Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. Only Uttar Pradesh has formally communicated the quantity and procurement timelines, the official quoted earlier said.

 

The second official noted that unless these sanctions are issued, procurement cannot begin. "There is a process that has to be followed," this official said. "We have held meetings with states earlier this year to sensitise them towards proactive procurement. We are also continously following up with them to ensure procurement begins at a timely pace."

 

Last year, tur procurement--originally scheduled to begin in January--was delayed till March as several states, particularly Karnataka, deferred operations for local policy decisions such as the announcement of a bonus, the first official said. The late start limited the government's purchases and tur procurement had to be wound up with less than 600,000 tonnes, far lower than the sanctioned quantity of 1.3 million tonnes.

 

The officials expect significantly higher procurement this year, provided operations begin on time. They indicated that the government currently holds about 500,000 tonnes of tur in buffer stocks, after allocating a portion to state governments. At least another 500,000 tonnes would be required this season to maintain the mandated strategic reserve of 1 million tonnes. Government rules mandate it to keep the reserve as buffer to be sold in the markets if prices rise steeply.

 

"We should be able to achieve this if procurement begins on time," the first official said, adding that procurement is expected to be significantly higher than last year, when volumes were limited by the delayed start of operations and higher prices.

 

Arrivals of the fresh tur crop have begun in some pockets, traders said. The prices, as per traders, are hovering between INR 6,200 and INR 6,500 per 100 kg. These are much below the minimum support price of INR 8,000 per 100 kg.

 

"The produce has high moisture content of around 24%, which remains a major hurdle, as government agencies will only accept produce with up to 12% moisture for procurement," the official said. This means large-scale procurement is likely to gain momentum only after proper drying of the produce.

 

The agriculture ministry has pegged tur production this year at around 3.6 million tonnes, close to last year's revised estimate. The officials said this appears realistic after factoring in crop damage in Karnataka and Maharashtra on account of heavy rains late in the southwest monsoon season as tur acreage is slightly higher this year and yields, too, are likely to improve. The government remains optimistic that with timely procurement, lower market prices, consistent imports, and better coordination with states, tur procurement in the current season could surpass last year's level significantly.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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