The government on Friday extended duty-free import of yellow peas used as substitute of chana (gram) by two months to June 30, according to a Directorate General Foreign Trade (DGFT) notification.
“All imports of yellow peas where the bill of lading (shipped on board) is dated on or before June 30, shall be subject to compulsory registration under the online import monitoring system,” according to DGFT.
In December, last year, the government allowed duty free import of yellow peas till March 31, 2024. Subsequently the government extended it till April 30, 2024.
In 2017, a 50% duty on import of pulses variety was imposed to encourage domestic production.
So far about one million tonne (MT) of yellow peas have been imported by Canada and Russia under a free import regime.
“Yellow pea imports are expected to help offset the projected shortfall in output of chana on drop in acreage and weather impacting the yields,” an official told FE.
Currently mandi prices of chana are ruling around Rs 6,000/quintal, against the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,440/quintal for 2024-25 season.
Meanwhile, agencies such as farmer’s cooperative Nafed are unable to carry out MSP procurement operations under price support scheme because of higher prices of chana, which has a 50% share in country’s output.
At present, the country produces 28 MT of pulses, which is largely sufficient to meet the domestic demand. However in terms of production and consumption of pulses varieties – tur, urad and masoor, ‘there is a slight mismatch’, sources said.