Commerce Ministry of India has informed Canada that they would soon remove barriers to import pulses. Reports suggest that a huge disparity in demand and domestic production is stated to be the major reason behind India’s change of stance. Besides drought in Australia, another principal supplier has reduced exports due to poor harvest and India’s neighbour Myanmar, the country that exports over 70 percent of its total produce has stopped shipping owing to civil unrest.
During the recent visit to India by Reginaid Ritz, the Canada’s Minister of Agriculture, Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry of India has promised that issues concerning the import of Canadian pulses would be resolved soon. Indian plant quarantine regulations mandate that all consignments entering the country be treated with methyl bromide to obviate the risk of stem and round worms while Canada uses different chemicals for fumigation. The point of ban is that the consignments have to be retreated in concordance with Indian regulations after reaching the Indian port.
According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world, the country produces about 24 percent of the global output and the consumption is pegged at 27 percent. Various statistics indicate that India will have a shortfall of 3 to 4mn tons of pulses annually for next 5 years. Canada’s pulse imports to India in 2007 alone accounted for about 1.4mn tons which includes peas, lentils, and chickpeas.
Though India continued its ban on pulses export except kabuli chickpeas, pulse exporters from Canada, China, Australia, Ukraine, Iran, Myanmar, Turkey and France consider India has the most lucrative market for pulses. Last year, India’s domestic production stood at 15mn tons as against its annual consumption of 18 to 19mn tons.