 "tur, dal, tur dal, pulses")
As demand for arhar (pigeon peas) in India continues to outpace domestic production, farmers in Australia and Brazil plan to grow the popular yellow lentil for Indian consumers, according to a report by The Economic Times (ET).
Officials were quoted as saying that the Indian Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) will promote pigeon pea farming in Queensland with the help of the Australian trade body Pulse Australia.
A top official told ET that Indian officials recommended to Australian industry that Australian farmers should grow pigeon peas for India, as India no longer imports chickpeas from Australia - once the top supplier of chickpeas to India.
Satish Upadhyay, an executive committee member of the IPGA told ET that Australia had previously conducted trial production of pigeon peas in 2019 and that the quality was good. However, they were unable to continue because the prices in India were not profitable for them. They have now begun work on growing pigeon peas for the Indian market once more.
Sources said that the Australian counterparts may like to get assured orders from the Indian government for the initiative to take hold. However, an official stated that the demand-supply deficit of about 1.7 million tonnes in India is itself a guarantee for any seller of pigeon peas.
On June 27, the food ministry said that the Centre will sell pigeon peas from its stocks in open markets to lower prices amid a demand-supply mismatch and a delay in the arrival of import shipments. The government on June 2 placed restrictions on how much stocks pigeon pea traders can store to prevent hoarding. The government had also asked state governments to step up monitoring of prices.
Earlier in 2023, IPGA finalised an agreement with Brazil to help farmers grow pigeon peas, which is a new crop for the country.
