New Chana Dal Brand Secures 1/4th Of Market In 4 Months Of Launch

People seem to love government-procured chana dal, which is being sold under the brand Bharat. It has now emerged to be the biggest-selling brand in the domestic market. It was launched just four months ago and now has 1/4th market share due to its strategic pricing. Consumer Affairs Secretary, Rohit Kumar Singh confirmed this on Wednesday. Bharat Chana Dal was launched in October 2023 and was controlled and regulated by the Central Government to control the prices of chana dal in the domestic market. It was being sold at Rs 60 per kilo, while other brands were selling it for Rs 80 per kilo. This resulted in it becoming the best-selling brand among consumers. Rohit Kumar Singh informed that consumers are loving the dal because it is economical. In an interview with PTI, he said, “The customer response has been so good that out of the 1.8 lakh tonne monthly consumption of all branded chana dal among households in the country, one-fourth is Bharat branded chana dal.”

Since October 2023, about 2.28 lakh tonnes of Bharat brand chana dal has been sold and the monthly average sale was around 45,000 tonnes. The Consumer Affairs Secretary also revealed that this step has helped in controlling the inflation in pulses. He explained that the price of pulses is like a basket. When the buffer stock is used to bring down the prices of chana, it also creates a lateral effect on other pulses’ prices.

This is the first time that the government is selling chana dal under the brand Bharat through agencies like the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED), National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation Of India Limited (NCCF), Kendriya Bhandar and five other state cooperatives. Raw Chana is being sold from the buffer stock to these agencies at a subsidised rate of Rs 47.83 per kilo. However, the condition placed is that these should not be sold at less than Rs 60 per kilo. The secretary informed that there are 15 lakh tonnes of chana in the government’s buffer stock.

Apart from chana dal, the government is also retailing Food Corporation of India (FCI) wheat flour (atta) under the Bharat brand. To keep the prices of rice in check, it is also selling FCI rice under the same brand.