Eminent agri economist Ashok Gulati says imports likely to double in the next 5 yrs if policies remain unchanged
India's import of pulses rose 90 per cent annually to 47.38 lakh tonnes during 2023-24 to meet domestic demand, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday. "All India production of pulses has increased from 163.23 lakh tonnes during 2015-16 to 244.93 lakh tonnes during 2023-24 (as per 3rd Advance Estimates)," the Minister of State for Agriculture Ram Nath Thakur said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. In 2021-22, import of pulses stood at 26.99 lakh tonnes, while exports were at 3.87 lakh tonnes. During 2022-23, imports of pulses stood at 24.96 lakh tonnes, while exports were 7.62 lakh tonnes. In 2023-24, the imports of pulses were 47.38 lakh tonnes and exports stood at 5.94 lakh tonnes. "During the last ten years i.e. 2014-15 to 2023-24 (as per 3rd Advance Estimates), total pulses and oilseeds production has increased by 43 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively," Thakur said. In reply to a separate question, the minister said the government has substantially enhanced the b
The move is likely to shield Indian consumers from rising prices, but could discourage local farmers to boost plantings of the crops
India imported 4.65 million metric tons of pulses in the year ended March 31, 2024, the highest since fiscal 2018, and up from 2.53 million tons imported a year ago
In 2022-23, Canada was the biggest exporter of lentils to India, accounting for more than half of the total imports of the legume into the country
Free category means there will be no restrictions on imports
For tur and urad, the cargo should arrive in India before June 30, 2022
Among kharif oilseeds, soybean and groundnut are the biggest in terms of both production and area under cultivation
The government on Monday reduced the basic customs duty on imports of masur dal to zero and halved the Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess on the lentil to 10 per cent
The slash in import duties on crude palm oil has been negated by price rise in global markets, stock holding limits on pulses are self-defeating, say industry players
Move aimed at controlling the spiralling prices of pulses; all consignments have to come by Nov 30, before the new local crops arrive
While processing units continued to operate at less than 30-40% capacity, transportation of pulses was impacted, spiking retail prices even as wholesale prices remained subdued
There would be lower imports next year also because traders might not be able to buy from overseas market, taking advantage of loopholes in the import quota order
Meanwhile, the government has decided to offload 5 lakh tonne pulses from its buffer stock to both state governments as well as in the open market.
Scenario is precarious for urad with almost half the crop damaged in major growing states, tur quota of 400,000 tonnes already exhausted
They have also submitted fresh questions on the validity of the steps taken by India under global trade rules and asked New Delhi to justify the restrictions under the WTO rules
India consumes around 24-25 million tonnes of pulses, but sowing trends show this year production is expected to be lower compared to last year
India's import of pulses is likely to decline by 68 per cent in FY20
1.5 million quintals of tur to be imported under MoU between India and Mozambique, even as farmers hold 4 times more
After a record high in 2016-17, import of pulses is expected to lessen this year, up to perhaps 20 per cent. In FY17, import had risen 19.9 per cent to 5.67 million; the domestic crop was 22.14 mt. Normal annual consumption is 24 mt. However, 2015-16 was a drought year; output was only 16.35 mt. Pravin Dongre, chairman, India Pulses and Grains Association (Ipga), said: "Last year, importers had placed huge orders at the beginning of the sowing season and then had to honour these (when the crop turned out to be better)." He said a little over half the import (2.93 mt) was of yellow peas (matar), not grown much in India. Chana (brown chickpea) was another big component (880,000 tonnes). When reports of higher crop started coming in, import of tur (split red gram) was reduced." India produced 4.23 mt of tur in 2016-17 and import was 447,000 tonnes, a little over 10 per cent of the production, by Ipga data. Two-fifth of that import was in the December quarter; import fell 24 per cent in ..