Import duty on yellow peas will raise demand for chana.

Traders and the industry have welcomed the central government decision to impose 50 per cent import duty on yellow peas as this import restriction would make people opt for costlier dal varieties like chana and tur dal once the existing yellow pea stock is exhausted.

People tend to opt for yellow peas as it is much cheaper than chana and tur dal.

The decision comes at a time when the country is staring at a bumper crop of chana and is struggling with excess tur output this season.

NCDEX future prices of chana for March and April delivery have been ruling at Rs 42.70-42.90 per kg. For farmers, this translates to about Rs 41 per kg, which is lower than the MSP for 2017-18.

Imposition of import duty on yellow peas is expected to divert India-bound shipments coming from Ukraine and Russia to other destinations.

"As such, with no new shipments of yellow peas coming to India, domestic supplies may get over in about two months, after which, there will be increase in demand for chana," said an importer. Thus, chana may get support when the harvest of the winter crop begins a couple of months later.

Pravin Dongre, chairman, India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), said, "We welcome the government's announcement on raising the import duty on wheat and 50 per cent duty on peas as these will provide the much-needed support to falling prices and send a positive signal to farmers. The free fall in pulses prices had to be arrested and we are glad that the government chose to impose duty at this point and not opt for quantitative restrictions as that could have choked the supply pipeline."

As prices of all other pulses have been ruling below MSP, chana prices had been giving better returns to farmers. "Chana prices had increased in the morning on Thursday. It declined later in the day," said Nitin Kalantry, a dal miller from Maharashtra.

"Yellow peas remain the cheapest source of protein for most of the Indian population and played a critical role in stabilising prices during the pulses crisis in 20152016. Long-term measures like improving yields, enhancing infrastructure for storage, promoting exports and Dal Mill modernisation etc are critical in ensuring that we do not continue to hurtle from one crisis (low supply) to another (over-supply) in quick succession," said Dongre.

The industry has demanded that the government should support masur prices, which are ruling low.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com