India to import additional 3,000 tonnes of pulses

Deepak Kumar | The Dollar Business

In the wake of falling production and soaring prices of pulses, the government has decided to import 3,000 tonnes of pulses – 2,000 tonnes of tur and 1,000 tonnes of urad—to meet the domestic demand. The decision was taken on Monday during a meeting between Union Cabinet Secretary P K Singh and secretaries of states departments. Singh also directed all states to increase procurement and create a buffer stock of pulses. The government had earlier imported 5,000 tonnes of tur and placed a revised order for importing additional 2,000 tonnes of chickpeas. “Cabinet Secretary directed that all the 400 outlets of Kendriya Bhandar and Safal in Delhi should start distributing imported tur dal immediately,” Ministry of Food said in a statement. Industry experts said that the Centre should have logged an accumulative order for 10,000 tonnes as it would have balanced both demand and price. “Overall production of pulses has suffered internationally. Top global producers, including Canada, Australia and Myanmar, have witnessed less production this year, leading to an increase in its global prices. The government should have placed imports order for about 10,000 tonnes at one time in order to balance demand and prices,” Atul Kumar Saxena, President of the Indian Importers Association (IIA), told the Dollar Business. “The order will take about a month to get delivered, leaving a gap of demand and supply in the market. It may again lead to a price rise,” Saxena said. The government had recently taken a number of steps, including banning exports, extending zero import duty, intensifying anti-hoarding operations and imposing a stock limit on pulses sourced from importers, exporters, licensed food processors and large departmental retailers to streamline the supply of the commodity in the market. To enhance domestic production, the government has increased the minimum support price for urad and arhar dal to Rs.4,625 per quintal and for Moong dal to Rs.4,850 per quintal. “This is not a new phenomenon. India is a huge consumer market, and our pulses production has never been sufficient to meet our domestic requirements.  Plus there has also been a decline in its production in Maharashtra this year,” Saxena said.  

October 20, 2015 | 4:38pm IST.