Policy push tariff hike on peas may boost pulses sowing in Rabi

New Delhi: Sowing of rabi (winter) pulses-chana and masoor-is expected to pick up after the government's move to impose 10% import duty and additional 20% agriculture infrastructure development cess on yellow pea imports.The levies will increase the landing price of imported yellow peas and help firm up prices of domestic pulses, said Suresh Aggarwal, president, All India Dal Mill Association. "It will help in motivating Indian farmers to plant pulses during the winter sowing season," he said. Imported yellow peas have been keeping mandi prices of key pulses such as tur, urad, masoor and chana low as the landed cost of yellow peas is lesser than the minimum support price and mandi prices of several other pulses. The approval for duty-free import of yellow peas just before the kharif (monsoon) sowing season deterred farmers from planting major pulses such as tur, urad and moong. While area under moong decreased marginally to nearly 3.5 million hectares in 2025 to 3.49 million hectares in 2024, that of tur increased slightly to 4.66 million hectares in 2025 from 4.64 million hectares last year. For months, farmer groups, government departments such as Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices, which recommends minimum support price for 23 crops, and agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had been asking for this to safeguard Indian growers, dampening the government's mission for attaining self-sufficiency in pulses. Retail inflation in pulses had been in at least double digits since June 2023, surging 113% in August 2024, on account of lower yield of key varieties such as chana, tur and urad in the past two years owing to adverse weather conditions. This forced the government to remove the import duty in December 2023. Subsequently, the government extended the window for duty-free import of yellow peas multiple times, the latest being in May this year till March 31, 2026. It came after shortage of tur for two consecutive seasons led the government to launch a six-year Mission for Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in Pulses in the interim budget for 2025-26.