India’s pulses import to be 3 mn tons in 2007-08

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India, which is facing shortage of pulses for the last few years, is likely to import three million tons in 2007-08 to meet the growing domestic demand.

“We feel the import would be about three million tons this year,” Consumer Affairs Secretary Yashwant Bhave said.

In a bid to contain the rising prices of pulses, the Centre has entered the global markets to import the commodity.

Private trade is also contracting pulses from overseas market such as Myanmar, Canada, Australia and African countries.

Bhave said the public sector trading companies STC, MMTC and PEC along with cooperative major NAFED have contracted to import 1.1 million tons of pulses since April 2007.

He hoped that these firms would be able to import the targeted 1.5 million tons pulses by the end of this fiscal.

According to government sources, the pulses import in the private sector so far stands at 0.8 million tons.

The Centre had decided to import 1.5 million tons pulses between April and December 2007 and also announced 15 per cent subsidy to the government-owned companies in their import bill on pulses.

Earlier, the government had said that the country would face shortage of pulses during the next three years as demand was estimated to outstrip output.