CACP recommends ban on import of yellow peas

29-May-2025 07:48 PM

New Delhi. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) has recommended a ban on the import of yellow peas, citing the serious negative impact such imports have on domestic prices and the income of Indian farmers.

The recommendation comes amid concerns that cheap and uninterrupted imports of pulses are depressing market prices, thereby hurting the interests of local producers.

In addition to the proposed ban on yellow peas, the Commission has advised the government to impose or increase import duties on other pulses such as tur (arhar), urad, and lentils. Currently, urad and tur are allowed to be imported duty-free until 31 March 2026, and lentils attract only a 10 percent customs duty.

The CACP has argued that higher import duties are necessary to support domestic farmers and ensure they receive fair returns for their produce.

These recommendations are part of the Commission’s non-price policy advice for the Kharif marketing season of 2025–26.

The objective is to promote self-sufficiency in pulses and edible oils by ensuring better price realization for farmers. For the 2025–26 season, the CACP had already suggested an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Kharif crops by 1 to 13.9 percent, which the government accepted with minor changes.

The Commission emphasized that maintaining attractive and profitable prices is essential for encouraging farmers to grow more pulses and oilseeds.

It has also recommended that the government create a policy environment that ensures import costs remain higher than the MSP for pulses.

According to the CACP, the current import policy is leading to a situation where prices of pulses like tur, urad, masoor, and gram, as well as oilseeds like soybean and groundnut, have dropped from peak levels to at or below their respective MSPs.

The CACP concluded that continuing to allow the import of yellow peas would not be in the best interest of Indian agriculture or farmers.