Thanks to middlemen, prices of Arhar (toor) dal have crossedRs 100 mark in New Delhi market. A quick glance at the prices reveals thatprice of Arhar dal

per kg should be around Rs 57. Prices in areas where thecrop is produced is around Rs 50. This means that the prices are nearly gettingdoubled as the produce leaves the mills and reaches the retail market. Thispoints to a possible role of middlemen who many a times exploit the farmers toartificially raise prices for their own profit. This not only affects farmersbut shoots up the prices.

Central Government put in efforts to increase Arhar Dalproduction, as a result of which the countruy saw a bumper production of 36lakh tonnes of Arhar dal being produced in the country. There has been a highdemand for it in domestic market as Arhar dal (toor dal) is a staple diet inlarge parts of the country.

However, the bumper production has driven the prices downwardsand farmers are having to beat the brunt. Farmers are not getting the MinimumSupport Price (MSP) for the produce. In New Delhi, the MSP is Rs 5800 perquintal but on Wednesday, the farmers were getting Rs 5700 per quintal.