Mumbai, May 4 (Commodities Control): India government has removed import duty on desi chana (Bengal gram), a type of chickpea, in an effort to relieve importers facing high prices and low supplies. This duty exemption is effective until March 31, 2025. However, trade experts don't see much benefit from this move as it is unlikely to influence a price fall in the immediate term.
On Friday, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) - the department under Ministry of Finance - issued an extraordinary gazette notification exempting duty on the import of desi chana, which was till now attracted an import duty of 60%. The duty exemption comes into effect from Saturday, May 4th. Further, the extension of import duty window for yellow peas, a substitute for Chana, till end-October is also notified. In April, the government extended the duty-free import of yellow peas by two months to June 30, 2024.
Chana or chickpeas is widely consumed in India and hence witnessing a sharp increase in prices. Chana prices ruled higher, well above minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,440 per quintal by 10-15% across the growing centers in the country. Chana prices have strengthened due to lower production and rising demand during the on-going wedding season. According to the second advance estimate, the chana crop size for 2023-23 is seen marginally lower at 121.61 lakh tonnes over the previous year's 122.67 lakh tonnes.
The government's procurement agency NAFED has struggled to purchase chana. It purchased 765 tonnes so far this season. The availability of Chana poses a big question since nearly 70% of crop has already arrived. Imports from Tanzania and other regions have dried up. The pipeline is almost running dry in Canada, while small quantity is likely to reach from Australia.
Hence, the decision to allow duty-free import is unlikely to induce price fall immediately. This fact is evident in today's price movement of desi chana across leading spot markets.
At Delhi, desi chana (Rajasthan line) quoted at Rs 6,350 per quintal, in Indore trades were conducted in the range of Rs 6,000 to Rs 6,350 per quintal while in Mumbai desi chana (Tanzania) traded at Rs 6,000 per quintal.
India's chana imports has almost doubled to 1.49 lakh tonnes during 2023-24 over the previous year's 59,255 tonnes.
The overall pulses production are pegged at 234 lakh tonnes for 2023-24 crop year compared to 261 lakh tonnes in the previous year, as per second advance estimate. This decline was mainly caused by of the decline in urad, moong and chana output.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau; +91-9820130172)
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