Consumption of tur or arhar dal has experienced a year-on-year decrease of 15-20% in 2023, according to industry executives. This decline is linked to a notable increase in retail prices, soaring from INR 130-140 per kg last year to the current INR 200 per kg.
Experts noted a shift in consumer behavior, with households in southern and eastern India replacing tur dal with imported green lentils, while in the northern and western regions, institutional consumption saw a substitution of tur dal with other lentil varieties. Additionally, experts observed a rise in the consumption of chana dal, promoted by the central government as a healthy alternative to tur dal, particularly in vegetarian meals.
While chana dal holds the title of being the most extensively produced and consumed dal in the country, tur dal finds broader usage, particularly in combination with rice and in various South Indian dishes such as sambar and rasam.
“There was a demand destruction of 15-20% in tur dal in 2023 in both the household consumer segment and the segment of institutional consumption, including hotels and restaurants,” Ankush Jain, business head-pulses at Olam Agri India, said in a webinar organised by the Indian Pulses and Grains Association. “The consumption of tur dal was substituted with lentils, green lentils and chana dal, especially the government’s Bharat Dal brand of chana dal.”
A Mumbai-based pulses importer, Satich Upadhyay, said, “The overall consumption of tur dal has declined since the prices in the retail market touched INR 200 per kg. In south India, green lentil was substituted for tur dal in the government tenders as lentils have taste similar to tur dal.”
The yearly demand for tur dal in India ranges from 4.2 to 4.5 million tonnes, whereas the estimated local production falls between 2.8 and 3.4 million tonnes. To address the shortfall, the country relies on imports and substitutes such as lentils.
In 2022, the country witnessed a surge in tur dal imports, rising to approximately 965,000 tonnes from 516,000 tonnes in 2020. Projections indicate that this year’s tur dal imports are anticipated to hover around 900,000 tonnes.
The current cost of whole unprocessed lentils in the wholesale market is 40% lower than the price of whole unprocessed tur.
India’s annual average demand for lentils stands at 2.4 million tonnes. However, in the fiscal year 2022-23, the country’s production amounted to 1.6 million tonnes.