IPGA estimates yellow pea production in Canada to be 26.50 lakh tonnes
13-Aug-2024 05:23 PM
Mumbai. The leading trade organization of the pulses sector - India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) has estimated the production of yellow peas in Canada to increase by 17.2 percent from 22.60 lakh tonnes in the 2023-24 season to 26.50 lakh tonnes in the current marketing season of 2024-25.
According to the association, due to increase in production, the supply and availability of yellow peas in Canada will increase to some extent, but it will not reach the historical record level.
After the Government of India exempted the import of yellow peas from all conditions, controls and customs duty in the first week of December 2023, its import from many other countries including Canada and Russia started increasing rapidly in the country.
Canada is at number one and Russia is at number two in the supply of yellow peas to India. In both these exporting countries, the preparation and harvesting of the new crop of peas has already started, while its pace is expected to increase further.
According to the available data, yellow peas worth $297.67 million were imported from Canada in India during the financial year 2023-24, while yellow peas worth $116.98 million were imported in the first two months of the current financial year, i.e., April-May 2024.
Overall, yellow peas worth $575.42 million were imported in India in the last financial year and $332.91 million in the first two months of the current financial year.
The period of duty-free import of yellow peas has been extended till October 2024, while there are indications of keeping it duty-free even after that.
In November 2017, a basic import duty of 50 per cent was imposed on yellow peas and later some strict conditions were also imposed on it.
As a result, its import remained closed for almost 6 years. According to a leading analyst, the average annual domestic consumption of pulses is currently around 240-250 lakh tonnes, while this quantity is expected to jump to 400 lakh tonnes by the year 2030.
If strong efforts are not made to increase domestic production in the meantime, the annual import of pulses may increase to over 80 lakh tonnes.