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Informist, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024

NEW DELHI – India needs a predictable policy for pulses imports to ensure smooth international trade, according to Ankush Jain, business head of Olam Agri. India is a net importer of pulses and imports the commodity from Australia, Brazil, and Tanzania.

The government has been extending duty-free imports of yellow peas in a staggered manner since last December. Currently, such duty-free imports are allowed till Mar. 31, and duty-free imports of chana, tur, urad, and masur also stretch till the same date. However, domestic importers and international farmers are clueless about what the policy would be after March. 

If the government devises policies for short windows, it deprives the market and farmers of long-term visibility to plan production accordingly, Jain said at the Grains World Conference here on Wednesday. 

On Sept. 13, the government had extended the duty waiver on yellow pea imports till Dec. 31 to control high prices of tur and chana as yellow pea is a substitute for both pulses. Earlier, duty-free imports of yellow peas were allowed only till Oct. 31. The government extended the duty-free imports of tur, urad, masur, and chana till Mar. 31.

According to experts on the panel, the government is torn between inflation worries and the need to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses. While trade barriers, including import duty, incentives domestic farmers to cultivate pulses, the government allows free imports to ensure sufficient availability of pulses at affordable rates to ensure food security.  

On Jul. 23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "For achieving self-sufficiency in pulses and oilseeds, we will strengthen their production, storage and marketing. As announced in the interim budget, a strategy is being put in place to achieve 'atmanirbharta' for oil seeds such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower."

In August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled 109 high-yielding varieties to increase productivity and achieve self-sufficiency. Of the 109 seed varieties, the government has launched three seeds for lentils, and two each for chickpea, pigeon pea, and moongbean.    

To increase domestic production of pulses, industry pressed for the adoption of high-yielding varieties, including genetically modified seeds, to become self-reliant in pulses. Though the government has estimated higher chana acreage, reports from fields signal a deviation as many farmers have shifted to maize and wheat, said Tanmay Kumar Deepak, head of research at AgriWatch. Chana acreage will mostly be on par with last year, he added. As of Monday, chana acreage was at 8.6 million hectares, up 1.9% from a year ago, farm ministry data showed. Chana is the main legume grown during the rabi season. 

Siraj Hussain, former agriculture secretary, said that in terms of policy, the government is biased towards consumers. India has curbed exports of even predictable surplus commodities such as rice and sugar amid the rise of new demand avenues for biofuel apart from food. Molasses, a by-product of sugar, and rice are used as feedstock for ethanol production. 

On Oct. 23, the government removed the minimum export price of $490 per tonne on non-basmati white rice, which was imposed in September. The government first banned the export of non-basmati white rice in July 2023. In December 2023, it allowed exports of non-basmati white rice to some African countries. In September, the government had also scrapped the minimum export price of $950 per tonne on basmati rice shipments. In August 2023, the government announced a minimum export price of $1,200 per tn for basmati rice to prevent illegal exports of non-basmati white rice. In October, this was lowered to $950 per tn as higher prices were hurting Indian basmati rice exports.

The government and policy experts are figuring out the way ahead with erratic climatic conditions and diversion of food for biofuel production, said Shweta Saini, founder and chief executive officer, Arcus Policy Research.  End

Reported by Afra Abubacker

Edited by Avishek Dutta

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