Competition Commission of India kicks off probe into rise in pulses prices

NEW DELHI: The Competition Commission of India ( CCI) has initiated an inquiry into the alleged anti-competitive practices behind the surging prices of pulses. The competition watchdog has formed an internal panel to study the market forces controlling the prices of pulses as the commodity has experienced a significant price rise in the last one year.

“We have initiated a study to find out various factors controlling the price, so that we could get to know the structure of this market,” a senior CCI official told ET. “Steady rise in price of pulses in the past few months had raised doubts that it can’t be only seasonal variation in demand and supply. Some anticompetitive forces could also drive the prices north.” Retail prices of various varieties of pulses have been hovering around Rs 200 per kg. The government has set up a panel under chief economic adviser Arvind Subramaniam to suggest ways to cool the prices and to boost the supply.

High prices of pulses have fuelled consumer inflation. India is expected to produce around 17 million tonne pulses this year against a consumption of over 25 mt, leaving a gap that is met with imports.

The competition regulator will study the nationwide structure of the market starting from farm to wholesale dealers and retailers, keeping in mind the seasonal supply and demand of various pulses. The panel will give its report within two months. “The study is a part of our overall effort to understand unfair business practices in the agriculture sector,” the official added. “The primary objective of the baseline study is to collect information and credible evidences on competition issues in the concerned sector and present the same in an analytical manner,” he said.

PHARMA AND HEALTHCARE
CCI will also soon carry out a detailed study of the pharma and healthcare services sectors in the National Capital Region. An expert firm will be asked to conduct the study on behalf on the fair trade regulator. Public and private hospitals, insurance companies, pharma firms and their associations and doctors would be covered under the study. “For this study, we are soon going to engage an expert agency,” the official said. A similar study is being initiated by the regulator suo moto to understand the market structure of ecommerce firms.