Decision to Extend the Pulses Import Agreement

22-Dec-2025 09:07 PM

New Delhi: Senior official sources say that the central government's five-year agreement with Myanmar, Malawi, and Mozambique for the duty-free import of pulses is set to expire in the next few months.

However, the government has decided to extend the agreement for another five years, and the agreement with these countries is likely to be renewed soon.

It is noteworthy that under the existing agreement, India imports 200,000 tonnes of pigeon peas (tur dal) annually from Mozambique, 100,000 tonnes from Myanmar, and 50,000 tonnes from Malawi.

In addition, the agreement also provides for the annual import of 250,000 tonnes of urad dal from Myanmar. This agreement was signed five years ago and is now set to expire at the end of the current financial year (2025-26).

The inter-ministerial committee has already decided to extend the duration of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the above-mentioned countries, but the formal agreement will be initiated through diplomatic channels by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The three supplying countries are already prepared to extend the agreement and are awaiting a positive signal from India.

It is worth noting that the Indian government signed a five-year agreement with the African country of Mozambique in 2016 for the import of 200,000 tonnes of tur dal annually when the domestic market price of this important pulse had skyrocketed to a peak of Rs 200 per kg.

Subsequently, in September 2021, the agreement was extended for another five years. Following this, in November 2021,

the Indian government signed a five-year agreement with Malawi for the annual import of 50,000 tonnes and with Myanmar for the annual import of 100,000 tonnes of tur dal,

which is set to expire at the end of the current financial year. In recent years, India has witnessed a significant increase in the import of pulses, reaching a new record level of 7.3 million tonnes in 2024-25.