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Govt's extension of duty-free import of yellow peas evokes mixed response
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Monday, 09 June, 2025, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi
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The Government of India has issued a notification extending duty-free import of yellow peas till March 31, 2026. While most organisations have welcomed this decision, some have expressed displeasure over it.
Shankar Thakkar, national secretary, CAIT, said that the government seems to be cautious and determined not to let the price rise of peas and other pulses.
However, Thakkar alleged that some organisations made representations to the Central Government's various ministries including Agriculture, Commerce, Consumer and Finance and the PMO office by sending letters and through the media opposing the extension of the duty-free import. These organisations urged the Government to increase the import duty, instead.
“It is worth mentioning that last year, under the influence of El Nino, there was a significant decrease in the production of tur, gram, moong, urad and other dal in the country, which led to significant price rise of these commodities and more than 75 lakh tonnes of pulses had to be imported from 54 countries of the European Union, Russia, Canada, Australia and Africa,” said Thakkar.
Also, last year, a complete ban was imposed on the import of moong to protect the interests of farmers, while in March, import of chana dal was allowed with 11 percent duty. Further, many importing agencies imported good volumes of pulses keeping the stocks full, which helped the price stabilise.
This led to overstocking of the pulses at many places, which is why some organisations were expecting the import duty hike for pulses.
Thakkar added that the government should form a coordination committee of the Ministries of Agriculture and Commerce.
“The Government of India should also formulate periodic import-export policies on the lines of the European Union and Russia by forming a coordination committee of the ministries of agriculture and commerce along with representatives of traders and import-export organisations and farmers associations so that in future there is no excessive import of pulses and India does not become a dumping ground while the farmers and consumers of India do not have to face problems,” said Thakkar.
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