Informist, Friday, Aug 9, 2024

NEW DELHI – The government must announce timely and forward-looking policies for seamless pulses trade with foreign countries, said Manek Gupta, vice-chairman, India Pulses and Grains Association. India is a net importer of pulses and imports from Australia, Brazil, and Tanzania to meet domestic requirements.

Gupta said the government's announcement of duty-free imports of chana was well-timed with Australia's seeding window, encouraging higher cultivation of the pulse Down Under. "(Australian) Farmers were timely signalled, and they increased their production, which benefitted India," he said at the press conference of the Bharat Dalhan Seminar today. In May, the government removed 66% import duty on desi chana (Bengal gram) till March 2025 amid a supply shortage in the country.

"But, the government was not able to give long-term visibility (in yellow peas)," Gupta said. Instead of opening a long window for duty-free imports of yellow peas, the government initially gave a four-month window, and ever since extended it. Yellow peas are a cheap alternative to chana and can bring down prices of India's pulse basket overall.

In December, the government allowed imports of yellow peas at nil duty till Mar 31. Since then, imports at nil duty have been extended three times. Currently, duty-free imports are allowed till October.

When the government announces trade policies for the short-term, the domestic millers, international exporters, and other stakeholders lose long-term visibility and stability, Bimal Kothari, chairman of the association, said. "We need a long-term policy so that the origin countries know when to grow for us and when not. Russia and Brazil are producing a lot of chickpeas for us," Gupta said.

According to Gupta, the government must devise a long-term plan for tur, urad, and masur to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses. India imports about 1.0-2.0 mln tn tur, 800,000-900,000 tn urad, and 600,000-700,000 tn masur, he said.

India's consumption of pulses is increasing, and is estimated to rise to 40 mln tn by 2030 from 24-25 mln tn currently, according to Ashok Gulati, chair professor for agriculture at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. In 2022-23, India produced 27.5 mln tn pulses.

While the overall pulses production is higher than the demand at the moment, the higher contribution of chana and moong to the pulses basket, and lower share of tur, urad, and masur prompts the government to import these in large quantities. The industry also pressed for the adoption of high-yielding varieties, including genetically modified seeds for becoming self-reliant in pulses. End

Reported by Afra Abubacker and Sayantan Sarkar

Edited by Aditya Sakorkar

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