Indian govt orders import of 12,500 MT pulses

The Dollar Business Bureau 

The Government of India has ordered an import of 12,500 MT of pulses to create a buffer stock, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said in a statement on Tuesday.  The buffer stock included 10,000 MT of masoor dal (split red lentil) and 2,500 MT urad dal (split black gram). India has already imported 14,321 MT of pulses till now out of the total import quantity of 38,500 MT, through government agencies.

As on Monday the Indian government has procured 64,000 MT of rabi pulses. With the earlier procurement of 51,000 MT during the kharif season, the country has procured in total 1,15,000 MT pulses this year, the ministry informed during the review of prices of essential commodities by inter-ministries. The meeting was chaired by the Department of Consumer Affairs Secretary Hem Pande.

The Secretary discussed several measures to offer these essential commodities at a reasonable price to everyone. He reviewed the distribution of the pulses from the buffer stock. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are the few states that have availed the allocated pulses. Safal and Kendriya Bhandar in New Delhi have also taken the allocated pulses. Many other states are yet to request for pulses, the ministry said.

Pande has directed the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) to start distribution of tur dal (split red gram) and urad dal (split black gram). This apex body of the consumer cooperatives distributes pulses through mobile vans in New Delhi at Rs.120/kg. He expected other states too would take similar steps to ensure that the pulses are available at affordable prices.

During the meeting, the Secretary  also discussed reducing the import duty on wheat. A Food Corporation of India (FCI) representative present at the meeting said that FCI had enough wheat stocks to cater to the needs of the public distribution system (PDS) and buffer norms than being sold in the open market.