India will slap a 30% import charge on yellow peas to maintain domestic prices.

New Delhi .After months of anticipation, the central government finally announced late Wednesday night that it will apply a 30 percent effective import charge on yellow peas starting on November 1 in order to curb unfettered imports and stop the decline in domestic pulse prices.

The levy also aims to support chana prices, which have fallen precipitously in recent weeks, ahead of the rabi-sowing season.

The biggest pulse crop in India is chana, which will start to be sown in a few days. When the import tax on yellow peas was eliminated in December 2023, the effects were evident right away.

Trade sources claim that because to the import tariff, the mandi prices of tur increased by ₹25–50 per quintal on Thursday, while those of chana increased by ₹50–100 per quintal in major marketplaces.

While masur rates increased by over ₹100 per quintal on Wednesday and Thursday, mandi prices of urad remained unchanged.
The greatest increase was in the mandi pricing of yellow peas, which increased between the two days by ₹150–325 per quintal, from about ₹3,500 to about ₹3,800.

Because of the flood of inexpensive yellow peas from Russia and Canada, the average mandi prices of pulses, such as urad, tur, masoor, and moong, have been trading below their respective minimum support prices (MSPs).

According to traders, urad and tur mandi prices were offered between ₹6,100 and ₹7,000 per quintal, although their respective MSPs were ₹7,400 and ₹7,000 per quintal.

The MSP was ₹8,682 per quintal, although Moong was selling for about ₹6,600. Additionally, Chana’s sales were much below its MSP of ₹5,875 per quintal.

According to the administration, shipments with a bill of lading dated October 31 or earlier are free from the duty. Mandibhav