Remove curbs on peas, urad imports to meet shortage of pulses: IPGA

IN VIEW of a likely shortage of some varieties of pulses, industry body IPGA recently demanded that the Government remove restrictions on import of peas and urad (black gram). Presently, import duty on peas is 50 per cent. On top of it, the Government had last month not only fixed a minimum import price (MIP) of Rs 200 per kg on peas but also allowed to import only 1.50 lakh tonne till March 2020 in a bid to restrict shipments and protect domestic farmers. In case of urad, the government has fixed import quota of 4 lakh tonne for this fiscal.

“With the kind of restrictions imposed on peas, it is just not feasible to import and the landed cost will be over Rs 300 per kg,” India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) Chairman Jitu Beda said. Peas mainly include four varieties — yellow peas, green peas, dun peas and kaspa peas. The country is dependent on import as domestic output is lower than the demand, he said while announcing about a conclave to be held in Maharashtra on February 12-14.

India imports about 30 lakh tonne of peas annually, of which yellow peas comprise about 5 lakh tonne and green peas about 2.50 lakh tonne, he added. Elaborating, IPGA Vice Chairman Bimal Kothari said the import quota of 1.50 lakh tonne peas cannot be met by March 2020 as the crop in importing countries, especially Myanmar, will be harvested after March.