Lentil imports in India may decrease if government stock is released
10-Oct-2024 03:42 PM
Saskatoon. Leading Canadian trade analyst has said that India usually imports about 12-14 lakh tonnes of lentils annually, but this year if the government tries to release the stock it has in the domestic market, then its import from abroad may decrease to around 8 lakh tonnes.
Canada's red lentil market is stuck on the decision of the Indian government and is facing difficulty in making future plans. This is also natural because India is its biggest buyer and this time production in Canada has also improved.
The analyst believes that the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), an agency subordinate to the Ministry of Agriculture, currently has a huge stock of about 8 lakh tonnes of lentils and it can try to release it in the market.
Vinod Agarwal, managing partner of SGR Agri firm, feels that NAFED can try to release about 6 lakh tonnes of lentils from its total stock in the domestic market.
Till now, NAFED has never had a stock of more than 8 lakh tonnes of lentils. With the imports continuing, if the government stock also comes into the market, then the pressure on the price of lentils will increase.
According to the analyst, it is impossible to say with certainty what NAFED will do next because it never gives any information to the market with complete clarity.
Naturally, this agency would like to give top priority to protecting the interests of indigenous producers and will also try to control prices in the domestic market.
At present, the price of lentils in India has not risen to a worrying level, so NAFED is also not in a hurry to release its stock in the domestic market.
Although the central government has estimated the production of lentils in the country to reach a high of 17.90 lakh tonnes during the Rabi season of 2023-24, but the industry-trade sector believes that the production of red lentils was actually around 10 lakh tonnes.
No one has any clear information about the actual production. If the next production is better and NAFED also starts selling its stock, then lentil imports in India may fall to less than 8 lakh tonnes. Import of lentils is free from customs duty till March 31, 2025, but its deadline can be extended.
Canada and Australia will face competition from Kazakhstan and Russia. 2.50 lakh tonnes of lentils are expected to be exported from Kazakhstan and 1.00 lakh tonnes from Russia.