Government ramps the purchase of pulses, approved the purchase of 13.2 lakh tonnes

New Delhi: The Center has instigated the purchase of Tur, or pigeonpea in the major Pulse-Produceous States, 100% TUR, Urad, and Masoor production as part of the commitment to buy the minimum support price (MSP), the Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday.

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has approved the purchase of 13.22 lakh tonnes for FY 25. In nine states – Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

“Purchase operations in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana are already running, purchased till March 11 with 1.31 lakh tonnes, about 89,219 farmers were benefited. The process is expected to start soon in other states, ”the ministry said.

The move aligns with the government’s decision to expand the Prime Minister’s Annana Abhiyan (PM-Asha) scheme by 2025-26, ensuring direct purchase from farmers to stabilize prices and reduce import dependence.

In addition to approving the purchase of 100% of the production of states for 2024-25 procurement year, the Center has announced the continuity of this measure for the next four years, up to 2028-29.

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Under the Price Assistance Scheme, the purchase is managed by the central nodal agencies such as the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Co-operative Consumer Federation of India (NCCF), which uses state-level agencies and digital platforms such as E-Samriddhi portal.

Experts say that this mass procurement commitment can affect both domestic and global pulse markets. Assistant Professor of Economics at Delhi University, Abhish Kumar said that with MSP-supported purchases, farmers can be encouraged to expand farming in future season.

At the same time, the lack of India’s import needs can affect international pulse trade dynamics, especially for major suppliers like Myanmar and Canada, Kumar said.

Recently, the government imposed 10% of the duties on the import of lentils, which was as part of pushing towards self -sufficiency in pulses production. This step comes when domestic production is running upwards. According to the data of the Ministry of Agriculture, the production of lentils has increased from 1.27 million tonnes in FY 222 to 1.56 million tonnes in FY 23 and has increased to 1.8 million tonnes in FY24.

Duty includes 5% basic customs and 5% agricultural infrastructure and development cess (AIDC).

However, Tur’s production has shown a mixed trend in recent years. While it was 4.22 million tonnes in FY22, it saw a sharp decline of 3.31 million tonnes in FY23. This was followed by a slight recovery up to 3.42 million tonnes, and the estimate for FY25 suggests to rise to 3.51 million tonnes.

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India came mainly from Myanmar, Mozambique, Tanzania and Malawi. Myanmar is traditionally the largest supplier, while African countries have gained importance due to government efforts to diversify sources and secure long -term supply agreements. India imports pulses from Canada, Russia and Australia.