Bhubaneswar, May 5 (IANS): Odisha will urge the central government to contain the prices of pulses, which have sky-rocketed in the past few days in the state, a minister said here on Tuesday.

During a review meeting on the increasing price of pulses, Food Supply and Consumer Welfare (FS&CW) Minister Sanjay Dasburma said the state government would request the centre to regulate importers from tweaking the price of pulses.

He said the government would ask the centre to take measures to put a check on speculative trading of the commodities.

Odisha imports about 80 percent of its requirement of pulses from other states.

A release from the FS&CW department said unseasonal rain has affected the agricultural output by about 40 percent across the country, as a result of which prices have gone up by 40 percent as against last year's prices during the corresponding period.

Among the pulses, black gram, which was selling for Rs.90-95 a kg in Odisha has now touched Rs.112 per kg.

Similarly, the price of arhar dal has breached the Rs.100-mark and is now being sold at Rs.110 per kg.