Decision on yellow peas duty soon

By Sandip Das

A ministerial panel meeting will decide Tuesday on whether to impose import duty on yellow peas largely used as substitutes of chana, a widely consumed pulse variety.

This follows the government not issuing any new notification for extending duty free import of yellow peas which ended on February 28. Sources told FE that a committee of ministers (CoMs) meeting slated on February 4.

Trade sources said the government may impose a higher import duty to discourage imports which has started to adversely hit domestic prices of pulses.

In December 2023, the government had allowed duty free import of the cheaper variety of pulses due to prospects of lower chana output and the relaxation was extended from time to time till end of February.

An import duty of 50% was imposed on pulses variety to encourage domestic production of chana in 2017.

Earlier trade body – India Pulses and Grains Association had urged against continuing with zero import duty especially when over 3 million tonne (MT) of the cheap variant of chana – key pulses variety largely used in the food processing sector, had been imported.

“There has been lots of dumping of yellow peas which has started to hit domestic producers and farmers as the landed cost of pulse variants should not fall below the average minimum support price (MSP) of pulses in India,” Bimal Kothari, chairman, IPGA had recently stated.

Kothari said the MSP of pulses in the country ranges between Rs 56/kg – Rs 85/kg.

India’s yellow peas import of 3 MT was out of a record 6.7 MT pulses import during the 2024 calendar year.

While the the landed cost of yellow peas, mostly imported from Canada and Russia, is currently at Rs 32/kg – Rs 35/kg and the dal made out of it sold around Rs 40/kg while rest of the pulses are ruling in the range of Rs 90 – Rs 160 / kg in the retail market.

Trade sources told FE that with the arrival of fresh rabi harvest, mandi prices of chana in Maharashtra is ruling in the range of Rs 5200/quintal – Rs 5350/quintal against the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5650/quintal for the 2024-2025 marketing season.

Arrivals in other states in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka are expected to peak up pace in the next 3 – 4 weeks.

For rabi season, the agriculture ministry has sanctioned 1.7 MT of chana and masur to be procured at MSP under price support scheme in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana so far. The proposal for MSP purchase of pulse expected from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan soon.

In 2023-24 crop year (July-June) due 10% drop in chana output to 11.03 MT on year because adverse weather conditions pulled down overall country’s pulses output by 7% to 24.24 MT on year. However trade had projected the chana output less than the agriculture ministry’s projection.

This article has been republished from The Financial Express.