Rumour mills work faster than dal mills in drought season

MUMBAI: Rumour mills are working overtime as far as the rates of pulses go. Contrary to claims made this past week, retail markets have not witnessed a sudden perceptible increase in dal prices.
Consumers fear that scaremongering over pulses hitting an all-time high of Rs 200 per kg may prompt hoarding and artificial price hikes. Such trends were seen during the onion and sugar crises.
"Unscrupulous wholesalers take advantage of every whisper in a drought year, holding on to dal stocks and creating scarcity.Meanwhile retailers milk the situation by marking up profits and landing a windfall. Consumers also tend to buy larger quantities of dal and sugar when they fear another hike, particularly because these commodities last weeks without spoilage. This causes more scarcity," said Sanjay Chaughule, a businessman from Kandivli.
The government has admitted the shortfall of dal crop owing to the drought. Yet, this has not yet had a widespread impact on retail prices perhaps because grocers already retain a neat profit margin to tide over seasonal variations. They do not alter rates daily in keeping with the fluctuations of the wholesale market.
Ashok Badia, who heads the Grain Rice and Oilseeds Merchants Association provided wholesale rates Saturday. "Tuvar dal is at Rs 130-135, moong dal Rs 80-100, urad dal Rs 150-155 and chana dal Rs 65-75," he said.
TOI found retailers charging Rs 30-50 more than wholesale price on every kilogram. In Andheri's Lokhandwala Complex, moong dal was Rs 140 per kg. Tuvar dal cost Rs 180 and chana dal Rs 110.
At Apna Bazar in Mulund, moong dal sold for Rs 114-118 per kg. Tuvar dal varieties were available for Rs 162 and Rs 174 per kg while chana dal sold for Rs 92-94, said store manager Uday Mohite.
"The government conducts raids on wholesalers. Retailers go scot free although they are ones overcharging customers," said Deepak Gala, a dal merchant in APMC Vashi.
Sugar stands at Rs 38 per kg. Vested interests affected by possible restrictions on water supply to sugarcane farms are threatening that prices will rise to Rs 45-50.