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Informist, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025

 

By Pallavi Singhal

 

NEW DELHI – Unabated imports of yellow pea, if continued, are likely to lead to a fall in chana acreage in the upcoming rabi season, a senior government official said. The agriculture ministry is concerned about the trend of bulk imports of yellow peas, which has depressed prices of all pulses, the official said. 

 

"Widespread mixing of imported yellow pea is being seen in both chana and tur products. Falling acreage of pulses in the kharif season, which the agriculture ministry had expected to rise, is another cause of worry," the official said. According to the agriculture ministry data, while the area under pulses has increased by 2% to 11.64 million hectares as of Sept. 5, the tur area has fallen 1% on year to 4.5 million hectares. Tur is the most consumed pulse in India, accounting for about 29-30% of total pulse consumption in India. 

 

At a time when India aims to become 'aatmanirbhar' in pulse production, the decline in acreage has been a cause of worry. "We had expected maize acreage to fall and pulse acreage to rise, but the opposite has happened. Almost 100,000 hectares of land earlier used for tur sowing have gone to maize in Karnataka this time," the official said.

 

"Our over-dependence on imports is not a good sign for the farmers, and is setting in a disturbing trend. If the country needs more yellow peas, tell the agriculture ministry. Indian farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh's Bundelkhand are quite capable of growing it themselves," the official added.

 

Imports of pulses have continued to flood Indian markets as the government has allowed duty-free import of tur, yellow peas and urad until March 2026. In particular, yellow peas, which are being imported at less than $400 per tonne, are seen as a spoilsport, pulling down prices of other pulses. 

 

India imported a record 6.63 million tonnes of pulses in 2024-25 (Apr-Mar), nearly double that of 2023-24. At 2.9 million tonnes, yellow peas accounted for about 45% of the total imports of pulses. Until December 2023, India did not import any yellow peas.

 

"India's pulse consumption has been moving up every year and currently stands at about 28.5-29.0 million tonnes. This consumption is seen crossing 30.0 million tonnes next year. If we do not work on our own productivity, the results may be disastrous," the official said. 

 

While the agriculture ministry has not suggested any specific duty on imports of the legume, it has asked the Group of Ministers to look into the matter. "We have asked that the matter be looked into. We are okay with a duty or an all-out ban till the time the farmers' interests are not hurt," the official said. According to another top government official, the matter will be taken up at the next meeting of the Group of Ministers.   

 

Meanwhile, chana production has been sliding every year since its record output in 2021-22 (Jul-Jun). Chana production in India, which peaked at 13.54 million tonnes in 2021-22, has declined to 12.27 million tonnes in 2022-23, and further to 11.04 million tonnes in 2023-24. In 2024-25, production is estimated to rise slightly only to 11.34 million tonnes, and any slide in acreage may raise prices and imports.  End

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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