Government makes stock declaration mandatory for pulses; tightens sugar monitoring

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs took multiple steps on Friday to control speculative price increases in pulses and tightened monitoring of sugar. It held a series of meetings with all the stakeholders of the pulses industry including large format retail, processors, importers, stockists and retailers giving a stern message that there was no scope for sharp increase in pulses prices after the festival season is over. It has asked the millers to begin mandatory weekly stock declarations. It also warned the sugar industry for not complying with the stock limit restrictions announcing additional sets of punitive measures for non compliance.

The central government on Friday warned the pulses industry stakeholders that there was no scope for price rise after the festival season as the government expects the production of kharif and rabi pulses to be good with the backing of good buffer stock.

Multiple sources, who attended the meetings, told ET that the government is convinced that the price rise has happened despite a good supply situation and warned that the government can impose stock limit if prices continue to rise.


“The government was concerned about why the prices were going up as it expects the production of Kharif pulses is expected to be good, the Rabi sowing of chana is expected to be good as some area is expected to shift from wheat to chana and the buffer stock with the government is also good,” said a senior industry executive, who requested not to be identified.

Bimal Kothari, chairman, Indian Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), said, “The Ministry has asked the stakeholders to begin weekly stock disclosure on the government portal for stock monitoring. We will ask our members to strictly follow these instructions.”

The government expects the 2026-27 kharif tur production of 3.59 million tonnes, against industry's estimate of about 2.5 million tonnes.

The secretary pointed out that contrary to the trade belief about losses in uard production, the arrivals of urad at mandis has been good, while production of urad in Uttar Pradesh, a key urad producer, is also good. The government said that the imports from Africa, Myanmar and Brazil have also been good, leaving no room for price rise.

Request to Russia:

The Ministry informed the pulses industry that it has initiated the talks with the Russian government to prioritise export of yellow peas to India.

"We had requested the Indian government to initiate a dialogue with their Russian counterparts to allocate a quota at Russia's northern ports for exporting yellow peas to India," said Kothari.

The secretary had issued separate instructions to secretaries of concerned state governments on Thursday to conduct stock verification to ensure there is no hoarding and speculative price rise.

"We informed the authorities that one of the reasons for the increase in the chana prices was the consistent increase by government agencies in the tender prices of chana. The larger quantities allowed per bidder also led to the stock going in the hands of the stockists instead of coming to the market. We have requested them to reduce the lifting period given to the bidders," said Satish Upadhyay, secretary, IPGA.

Nitin Kalantry, CEO, Kalantri Foods said, "We have suggested allocating smaller quantities in the government sale of pulses."

BOX : Tightening of monitoring of sugar supply:

The DFPD issued a new set of guidelines in a letter on Friday which significantly tighten monitoring of sugar sales, stockholding and quota utilisation. Repeated violations could affect future domestic allocations, export quota eligibility and even mill operations through State Government action.

The department has said that the sugar sold or dispatched beyond the monthly domestic release quota will be deducted from the following month's quota. Any unrecovered excess will be carried forward until fully adjusted.

The department announced additional punitive actions to be taken on mills who violate the rules more than twice. Now, more than two stockholding-limit violations within one year may lead to withdrawal of DFPD scheme benefits, including export quotas and incentives. Sugar retained in mill godowns under lease arrangements with bulk consumers must be reported to DFPD within three days, along with quantity and lease duration.

Mills with regular violations will not receive additional quota allocations. Pending quota adjustments, stock held beyond seven days after sale, or sales to unregistered buyers may also affect eligibility.