Government may continue zero import duty on pulses beyond March 31

MUMBAI: Government is considering continuation of zero import duty on pulses as output is expected to be lower while demand is growing, a top consumer affairs ministry official has said here.

There is zero duty on import of pulses till March 31. India imports about 3-4 million tonnes of pulses annually to meet domestic demand. The country produces about 19 million tonnes of pulses.

"We are considering the continuation of zero duty status for import of pulses. The decision on this will be taken before March 31," Consumer Affairs Secretary Keshav Desiraju said yesterday on the sidelines of India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) here.

"The industry had asked us to continue with the duty free status as the production is expected to be lower and consumer demand is increasing," he added.

According to industry estimates, import of pulses is expected to be over 4 million tonnes in 2014-15 as against 3.8 million tonnes in the previous year.

Pulses processors and importers demanded the government set up a Pulses Upgradation Fund in line with the Technology Upgradation Fund to revive the textile sector.

"We have asked the government to set up a Pulses Upgradation Fund with an initial corpus of Rs 5,000 crore to upgrade the modernize dal mills, which will improve the quality," India Pulses and Grains Association Chairman Pravin Dongre said.

"The pulse processing in the country is highly fragmented. There are 20,000 dal mills with an average capacity of just 2-3 tonne milling capacity a day. With technology, capacity can go up to 300 tonne per day and the operating cost can be reduced. And silo storage can maintain the quality," he said.

He said through this fund the government should provide subsidy or reduce import duty of machineries.

Talking on prices, Dongre said "Prices will start firming up in the domestic market from June-July, when the new stocks will begin arriving. International prices have already began firming up in anticipation with India's import needs".