India Imported 11.32 Lakh Tonnes Of Pulses In April-May In FY25

The Indian government informed the parliament on Wednesday that 11.32 lakh tonnes of pulses were imported during the April-May period of the current fiscal to satisfy domestic demand.

The country had imported 47.39 lakh tonnes of pulses in fiscal 2024.

Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, conveyed the information in a written reply to Lok Sabha that 11.32 lakh tonnes of pulses have been imported till May in fiscal 2025.

Import of pulses stood at 24.66 lakh tonnes in 2020-21, 27 lakh tonnes in 2021-22 and 24.96 lakh tonnes in 2022-23.

"The overall production of pulses in India is sufficient to meet the domestic demand. However, imports are required in certain pulses such as tur, urad and masur due to consumption preferences," she said.

The minister reported that buffer stocks of pulses and onions have been maintained through the Price Stabilisation Fund to help stabilise market prices and manage price volatility.

"Currently, dynamic buffer stock of pulses namely, tur, urad, moong, masur and gram are being maintained. The quantum of stock with the government also helped in deterring hoarding unscrupulous speculation by market players," she said.

Bharat Dal was launched in July 2023, by converting chana stock in the PSF into chana dal for retail disposal to make dal available to consumers at affordable prices.

Over 11.37 lakh tonnes of Bharat Chana Dal has been sold to retail consumers till July 22, 2024.

The Bharat Dal has been extended to include Bharat Moong dal by converting moong stock in the PSF buffer into moong dal for retail sale to the consumers at subsidised prices of Rs 107/kg for moong dal and Rs 93/kg for moong sabut.

Further, the Bharat Dal has also been extended to include masur dal by converting masur stock in the PSF buffer into masur dal for retail sale to the consumers at price of Rs 89 per kg.

(With inputs from PTI).