In a move aimed at keeping prices under a check, the Government on Saturday amended the pulses import policy by moving tur, urad and moong from ‘restricted’ to ‘free’ category.
The Commerce Ministry in a notification on Saturday said the revision in pulses import policy is with immediate effect and will for the period up to October 31, 2021.
Further, import consignments of these items with Bill of Landing issued on or before October 31 shall not be allowed by Customs beyond November 30, the notification said.
Jitu Bheda, Chairman, Indian Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), said:
“The Open General License (OGL) under the free import policy will enable the traders to quickly import the required quantity of tur, moong and urad to fulfil the shortage of the pulses. We are expecting minimum 250,000 tonnes of tur, 150,000 tonnes of urad and around 50,000-75,000 tonnes of moong beans to be imported primarily from Myanmar, African, and the neighbouring countries.”
The prices of majority of the pulses are ruling higher than the minimum support price (MSP) levels by about 5-30 per cent due to lower than projected crop, which was impacted by mainly by unseasonal rains. Tur prices are ruling higher by 10-12 per cent above the MSP of ₹6,000 per quintal, while urad is trading higher by about 30 per cent over MSP. Moong is ruling higher by about 5 per cent.
Source: Business Line
