Lower Output, Higher Imports Shift Pulse Market Dynamics
09-Oct-2025 04:14 PM
Mumbai. Although the central government repeatedly emphasizes the need to make the country self-sufficient in pulses and is reportedly making every effort to achieve this goal, the results are not positive. Instead, the area under pulses is continuously declining, and imports are rapidly increasing due to declining domestic production. Consequently, the goal of self-sufficiency has been significantly missed.
During the financial year 2024-25, India's pulse imports have skyrocketed to an all-time high of 7.36 million tons. Over the past five years, India has spent a massive sum of over ₹1.25 lakh crore on pulse imports.
On the other hand, the area under pulses has declined significantly by approximately 3.1 million hectares over the past four years.
This decline, coupled with crop damage caused by natural disasters, is naturally leading to a significant decline in pulse production.
The Central Government recently approved the Pulses Self-Reliance Mission. Under this initiative, the target is to increase the total sown area of pulse crops by 3.5 million hectares from the current level of 27.5 million hectares to 31 million hectares by 2030-31.
Similarly, the target is to increase the total production of pulses to 35 million tons and the average yield to 1,130 kg per hectare.
Under the Pulses Mission, special campaigns will be launched in 416 districts across the country, with a total budget provision of ₹11,440 crore.
A study of annual domestic pulse production data clearly indicates that the figure has remained stable between 250 and 260 million tons for the past five years. In the 2020-21 marketing season, pulse production was 25.463 million tons.
After rising to 27.302 million tons in 2021-22, it declined to 26.059 million tons in 2022-23 and further declined to 24.246 million tons in 2023-24. Pulse production is estimated at 25.238 million tons in the 2024-25 season. These are all government figures, which are often exaggerated.