In a move that will help growers realise better prices, India has ended duty-free imports of yellow peas, which have been seen as a main reason for the sharp fall in the prices of pulses in the global market. The development comes when kharif crops arrival is peaking.
In a notification issued late on Wednesday, the Finance Ministry said from November 1, yellow peas will attract a 10 per cent import duty and 20 per cent Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess (AIDC) 1.
The development comes on the heels of the pulses industry seeking the reimposition of duty on yellow peas. The duty was discontinued since December 2023.
Move to raise returns
The move to impose the duty within 7 months of making shipments duty-free follows the Government’s decision to approve the procurement of moong (green gram), urad (black matpe) and tur (red gram) at their respective minimum support prices (MSPs) in Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Including soybeans, the procurement could result in an estimated expenditure of ₹15,095.83 crore.
The decision to reimpose import duty on yellow peas will help Indian growers realise better prices as currently, they are fetching rates lower than the MSPs fixed by the Government. Prices of tur are rulign below ₹7,000 a quintal against the MSP of ₹7,550 and of urad at ₹6,150 (₹7,400). Moong is quoted at ₹6,557 against the MSP of ₹8,682 a quintal.
Besides this, prices of pulses in the global market have crashed in view of a good crop in countries such as Canada, the US, Australia and Russia. Besides African countries have had a good harvest of pigeon peas (tur).
10-20% price dip
According to data from the Global Pulses Confederation, prices of many pulses have declined by 10-120 per cent in the past 3 months. For example, the prices of green lentils have declined to $610-640 per tonne currently, compared with $765-785 in August.
Pigeon peas from Africa have crashed to levels of $550 a tonne from over $600 in August. Similarly, prices of chickpeas have plunged below $500 a tonne from about $700 in August.
Prices of yellow peas have nosedived to between $300 and $320 a tonne from $415 in August.
Published on October 29, 2025
