Centre keeps close watch on essential food commodities prices amid market fluctuations

The food ministry claimed that the government has taken several pre-emptive and timely decisions to maintain price stability. These measures include incentives for domestic production and import-export policies to ensure the overall availability and affordability of essential food commodities.

Centre keeps close watch on essential food commodities prices amid market fluctuations

The Centre stated that it is closely monitoring the prices and availability of essential food commodities to ensure affordability for consumers and maintain a stable price regime.

“The government has taken several pre-emptive and timely decisions to maintain price stability while considering the interests of both consumers and farmers. These measures include incentives for domestic production and import-export policies to ensure the overall availability and affordability of essential food commodities,” the Food Ministry said in a statement.

The production of pulses and onions in 2024-25 is estimated to increase compared to last year due to good monsoon rains and favourable weather conditions. Tur production is projected to reach 35.02 LMT, a 2.5% increase from last year’s 34.17 LMT. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has sanctioned the procurement of Tur for the current marketing season. Kharif Moong production is estimated at 13.83 LMT, marking a 20% rise from the previous year’s 11.54 LMT.

"The calendar year 2024 came to a close with December retail inflation rate of 5.22% which is significantly lower than the year’s peak of 6.21% in October. Food inflation had also moderated in December to 8.39% from 10.87% in October," said the Food Ministry press release. 

To incentivize domestic pulse production, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare removed the procurement ceiling under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) for traditionally imported pulses such as Tur, Urad, and Masur. This ensures 100% procurement at MSP for these crops during 2024-25. Pre-registration of farmers for assured procurement was facilitated by NCCF and NAFED.

To boost domestic availability, the duty-free import policy for Tur, Urad, and Masur has been extended until March 31, 2025. Additionally, duty-free import of Yellow Peas is permitted until February 20, 2025, to ensure adequate pulse availability. To address the shortfall in domestic Chana production, duty-free Chana imports have been allowed from May 2024 to March 31, 2025. The government has also continued selling Chana Dal, Moong Dal, and Masur Dal under the Bharat brand. These measures have helped reduce the CPI pulses inflation rate from 19.54% in January 2024 to 3.83% in December 2024.

For onions, the government procured 4.7 LMT of Rabi-2024 onions for buffer stock. The average procurement price in 2024-25 was ₹2,833 per quintal, higher than last year’s ₹1,724 per quintal, benefiting onion farmers. Onions from the buffer stock were released between September and December 2024 through retail outlets and mobile vans at ₹35 per kg, alongside open market sales to boost supply in major consumption centres.

Considering the shortfall in onion production, the government calibrated the onion export policy to ensure domestic availability. Onion exports were prohibited from December 8, 2023, to May 3, 2024, then permitted with a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of USD 550 per MT and a 40% export duty from May 4 to September 12, 2024. Subsequently, the MEP was removed, and the export duty was reduced to 20% from September 13 onward.

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