The Government has restricted import of pulses like tur, moong and urad since August, 2017 with annual Quota Restriction of 5 lakh MT (2 lak MT for tur, 1.5 lakh MT each for urad and moong) in order to stabilise the prices and protect the interest of the farmers.
All varieties of pulses, including organic pulses, have been made ‘Free’ for export without any quantitative ceiling. The export has been allowed through Customs EDI ports. However, export through the non-EDI Land Custom Stations (LCS) on Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Nepal border has also been allowed subject to registration of quantity with DGFT. Under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020, Bengal Gram with HS Code 07132020 was provided rewards at the rate of 7% for exports made between 20.03.2018 to 20.09.2018
The values of India’s imports of agricultural commodities including pulses, vegetable oils, wheat and apple for last four years and current year alongwith the percentage change for the current year are given below:
(Value in USD million)
| S. No. | Commodities | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2017-18 (Apr-Oct) | 2018-19 (Apr-Oct)* | % Change |
| 1 | Vegetable Oils | 10621.48 | 10492.08 | 10892.75 | 11637.48 | 7234.08 | 6080.12 | -15.95 |
| 2 | Cashew | 1087.16 | 1339.34 | 1346.58 | 1418.63 | 1030.18 | 1338.50 | 29.93 |
| 3 | Fresh Fruits | 1565.20 | 1694.84 | 1682.88 | 1942.92 | 1075.44 | 1150.99 | 7.02 |
| 4 | Spices | 717.78 | 823.79 | 858.95 | 990.70 | 554.77 | 622.02 | 12.12 |
| 5 | Pulses | 2786.11 | 3902.22 | 4244.13 | 2908.33 | 2085.64 | 558.12 | -73.24 |
| 6 | Sugar | 601.17 | 612.24 | 1021.81 | 936.52 | 631.16 | 344.85 | -45.36 |
| 7 | Apple | 230.80 | 216.11 | 300.96 | 252.26 | 183.88 | 243.98 | 32.69 |
| 8 | Coffee | 152.20 | 122.59 | 138.20 | 154.73 | 93.95 | 91.64 | -2.46 |
| 9 | Fruits / Vegetable Seeds | 100.48 | 107.57 | 97.42 | 119.19 | 82.33 | 84.48 | 2.62 |
| 10 | Other Oil Seeds | 26.59 | 32.99 | 58.55 | 56.47 | 29.79 | 72.31 | 142.73 |
| 11 | Tea | 63.57 | 58.04 | 50.45 | 55.39 | 34.72 | 26.42 | -23.89 |
| 12 | Other Cereals | 10.03 | 51.84 | 73.30 | 67.27 | 50.65 | 25.85 | -48.97 |
| 13 | Sesame Seeds | 62.67 | 27.59 | 65.88 | 27.40 | 15.99 | 25.15 | 57.22 |
| 14 | Niger Seeds | 0.60 | 6.76 | 12.38 | 4.49 | 2.87 | 2.38 | -17.09 |
| 15 | Rice(Other Than Basmoti) | 1.77 | 0.91 | 1.08 | 1.89 | 0.98 | 1.63 | 66.15 |
| 16 | Fresh Vegetables | 1.82 | 59.78 | 1.66 | 3.98 | 3.00 | 1.53 | -48.87 |
| 17 | Wheat | 9.95 | 135.45 | 1268.64 | 364.50 | 255.04 | 0.72 | -99.72 |
| 18 | Groundnut | 0.08 | 0.05 | 0.21 | 2.02 | 1.61 | 0.59 | -63.35 |
| 19 | Castor Oil | 0.30 | 0.17 | 0.22 | 0.40 | 0.17 | 0.48 | 183.22 |
| 20 | Mollases | 4.93 | 1.16 | 1.35 | 10.76 | 9.58 | 0.15 | -98.42 |
| Total Import of above | 18044.69 | 19685.52 | 22117.38 | 20955.34 | 13375.81 | 10671.90 | -20.21 | |
Source: DGCIS (*: Provisional)
This information was given by the Minister of State of Commerce and Industry, C. R. Chaudhary, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
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