Drought hits Tandur toor dal crop, exports trigger shortage fears

Hyderabad: Tandur toor dal, Telangana’s first agricultural product to receive a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, faces a potential supply crunch as El Nino-induced dry conditions have damaged the crop in Vikarabad district, even as the government has begun promoting its exports to overseas markets.

The first consignment of 2.5 metric tonnes of GI-tagged Tandur red gram was flagged off to Australia on October 28 with the support of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). The export comes amid reports of widespread crop damage due to drought conditions, raising questions over domestic availability if production falls short and overseas demand expands.

Vikarabad district recorded a red gram output of 1.67 lakh quintals in 2025-26. This year, the crop was cultivated across 1.11 lakh acres, but prolonged dry spells and erratic power supply have left fields parched.

The damage has been reported in Vikarabad, Kodangal and Pargi, including fields barely a kilometre from the Sarpanpally project. Due to water and power shortages, many farmers in the surrounding areas have lost the crop, forcing them to remove it and sow short-term crops such as chickpea.

Amid suggestions from agricultural scientists to provide one or two irrigations wherever possible to help save the crop, farmers said more standing crop could wither if rain does not arrive or adequate water supply is not ensured within a week.

Tandur red gram received GI recognition in December 2022 for its distinctive quality. The Agriculture Department has now initiated a digital traceability system covering farmers, land, crops and output to curb the sale of other pulses under the Tandur name. About 65,000 farmers are registered as growers.

While the Australia shipment is a step towards opening international markets, a sharp fall in local production could tighten supplies and push retail prices higher. However, officials said there could be only a minor domestic impact and that the scale of the likely shortage would depend on the final harvest and the extent of further export orders.