According to media reports, India is considering importing pulses from several countries to boost its domestic stocks and control inflation in the products.

The Indian government is reportedly planning to import supplies of pulses from Brazil, Argentina, Australia and some African countries to augment domestic stocks, Financial Express reported. The authorities have also eliminated import duties on various types of pulses such as tur, urad, masoor, yellow peas and Bengal gram by the end of the current financial year 2024-25 (FY25).

The report quoted an official as saying: “The recently announced removal of import duties on Bengal gram should send a signal to farmers in Australia and other countries to grow the pulse variety.”

Angrio de Queiroz Mauricio, agriculture attaché at the Brazilian Embassy in New Delhi, pointed out that both countries have been collaborating on pulse cultivation for some time. “However, our recent decision to cultivate urad and export it to India looks promising,” he said.

Notably, India's import of pulses touched a record 4.65 million tonnes (MT) in financial year 2023/24 (FY24), increasing from 2.53 MT imports in the previous financial year 2022/23 (FY23).

Quoting sources, the report said India was in talks with Argentina for import of pulses.

Until last year, India imported mainly masur, tur and urad, with masur coming from Australia, Myanmar, Mozambique, Canada, Malawi, Sudan and Tanzania.

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The import duty on yellow peas was lifted in December 2023. Currently, India is self-sufficient and can meet the local demand for pulses. However, citing sources, the report said there was a “slight mismatch” between the production and consumption of varieties of the plant such as Tur, Urad and Masoor. Annual crop yields are estimated at around 26-27 tonnes.