Surge in pulses rate forces consumers to visit congested wholesale markets

NEW DELHI: Namita Singh makes a monthly trip to Kondli in east Delhi with a shopping list. Her destination is the wholesale market that supplies to retailers in the Capital and Noida.

"I get a very good discount, even without bargaining," said the school teacher. "The prices are even cheaper than what the online retail or the modern retail stores offer and of the same quality. I am saving over Rs 20 a kg in pulses by buying from here."

Ram Kumar, who earns Rs 7,000 a month as a clerk, gets dal at even cheaper rates from Pul Mithai or the Pili Kothi Chowk area.

His family needs about Rs 5 kg of pulses a month. The quality may not be great but "it makes sense to buy from here even if there are stones in dal." The surge in dal prices is taking those looking to economise to nooks and crannies of the Capital. One such cutprice market is down a noisy, grimy, congested street near the Old Delhi railway station.

There, on the pavements of Pul Mithai, penny-pinching householders and restaurant owners are flocking to buy pulses that may not be topnotch in terms of quality but are much easier on the purse. Sure, the dal may be moist, the grains a little rough around the edges and there could be a few pebbles mixed in but the price is less than half the record Rs 200 per kg in the retail market elsewhere. Vendors even offer some lesser-known varieties that cost barely Rs 60, offering a compelling bargain for a dhaba or a small restaurant owner.

"It’s a trend we have seen for years. When prices of pulses or rice increase, then people from across Delhi, neighbouring Haryana and even Noida come here to buy," said Santosh Kumar, a vendor of pulses and rice at Pul Mithai. "Over the past few months, sales have increased by 10 per cent."



For those who are relatively more well off and quality conscious, there are other markets where discounts may not be as deep as those at Pul Mithai, but wares will be of a better standard. Many buyers such as schoolteacher Singh are also seeking out wholesale markets, such as the one in Kondli, that supply groceries and grains to retailers.

Pulses are a key source of protein for many in India, especially vegetarians. For consumers like Singh and Kumar, Pul Mithai, Kondli and similar markets in the Capital and elsewhere have helped cushion impact of the sudden price rise, at least partly.

At the Kondli market, Avdesh Garg of HH Traders, said he sells arhar dal (pigeon pea) for Rs 140 a kg in retail compared to its price of Rs 160-180 a kg in other markets. Masoor lal (red lentil) costs Rs 80 a kg in Kondli compared with Rs 110 in retail markets elsewhere in the city. "We are selling to consumers at wholesale prices, which are Rs 15-20 a kg cheaper than any retailer will offer you," said Garg.

The scenario in other wholesale markets such as Bara Bazaar in Kolkata, Kalupur in Ahmedabad, Vashi in Navi Mumbai or Mattancherry in Kochi is the same with consumers making the journey through narrow lanes and even standing in serpentine queues to do monthly shopping. "There is a huge margin of 30-40 per cent between retail and wholesale prices, which is quite unreasonable, so consumers go to wholesale markets," said KC Bhartiya, director at India Pulses & Grain Association. "The trend is there across the country from Delhi to Mumbai, but I don’t see an exponential growth."
Apart from looking to protect their profit margin, retailers have to bar packing, transport, rental and other costs. "Wholesalers pass this margin on to consumers, which is very helpful for the middle class," Bhartiya said.

Retailers said they are unable to reduce prices as sales have been dwindling as people have no alternative but to cut down on consumption. However, Deepak Aggarwal, a trader at Bada Bazaar in Kolkata, said prices of pulses were being reduced daily so as to offload stock.

"Green vegetables from spinach to fenugreek have started arriving in the market and consumers will shift to them rather than buying pulses. So we are selling pulses at no profit," he said.

Near Old Delhi railway station, sellers on the Pul Mithai bridge do brisk business on the pavement and in temporary wooden structures.

"Most of the pulses being sold here are brought from millers’ godowns at Lawrence Road (northwest Delhi) or the Naya Bazar market (Chandni Chowk). The pulses may be broken, may have foreign material and even high moisture content, but people come to Pul Mithai to buy cheaper dal for their home or to sell in smaller markets," said Sunil Baldeva of Siliguri Associates, an importer and trader based in Naya Bazar.

High prices are something of a leveler. "We get all sort of customers — from those who come in cars to those by bicycle. The prices are quoted based on the quality of pulses," said Radheshyam, a trader at Pul Mithai. Demand, which picked up during festive season, is expected to remain strong till mid-December when the wedding season will end, he added.

According to traders, demand increases on Sundays when vendors sell pulses on the kilometre-long stretch till the Old Delhi railway station. "The poor man is largely buying kesari dal (grass pea) which looks and tastes like arhar dal but costs only Rs 60 a kg… Matar (yellow peas) is the cheapest at Rs 40 a kg," said Soma Devi, a street vendor at Pul Mithai.

ET View

Encourage farmers to grow pulses

The sorry state of affairs is hardly surprising. Traders and speculators make a pile when prices of basic food items spin out of control. Pulses is no exception. The government must ensure that pulses, a main source of protein for the poor, are distributed in fair price shops, and not let the poor buy substandard quality from local traders. To enhance supplies, farmers should be given remunerative prices. The system of procurement, too, should be robust to encourage farmers to grow pulses. Let there be a course correction in policy.