Tur prices up 22% in Q4, may rise further on tight supply

Tur production is likely to fall by 20-30% due to factors such as unseasonal rain in October

- Puja Das

Tur production is expected to fall by 20-30% due to factors such as unseasonal rainfall in October and farmers shifting to cultivating crops such as soybean and cotton. This has raised concerns over insufficient stocks in the central pool and driven up tur prices by 22% in the past three months and 32% over the past year, industry officials said.

Key wholesale markets in Maharashtra, the largest tur grower, reported mill-quality tur trading at ₹8,400-8,500 per quintal, against the minimum support price of ₹6,600 a quintal, according to spot market sources. This marks a significant increase from last year’s corresponding period, during which fair average quality (FAQ) tur variety was sold at ₹6,000-6,231 per quintal, as per data from the government’s agriculture marketing portal Agmarknet.

“Rainfall in October damaged standing tur crop in Maharashtra, which is likely to reduce yield by 20%, weighing on India’s total production this year," said Naresh Biyani, Akola-based Radha Udyog, a processor of pulses.