New Delhi: Government will not extend duty-free import of yellow peas beyond February, food and consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said Thursday. Government had allowed duty-free import of yellow peas in Dec 2023 and subsequently extended it thrice till Feb 28 to tide over the increase in prices of tur dal.
“We are stopping the duty-free import of yellow peas,” Joshi told reporters.Sources said the issue of duty on yellow peas is likely to be taken up by Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by home minister Amit Shah next week. The food ministry has given its comments and a final decision will be taken by GoM, Joshi added.
India Pulses and Grain Association (IPGA) chairman Bimal Kothari said govt may impose restrictions on yellow peas import in the interest of farmers. “We expect that this (duty-free import of yellow peas) may not be extended or there might be some restrictions on import,”he said.
India’s yellow peas import stood at 30 lakh tonne out of 67 lakh tonne of overall pulses import during 2024 calendar year, he added.