The government on Tuesday allowed the import of moong (green gram), urad (black gram) and tur (red gram) to continue without quantitative restrictions under “free” category until March 31 next year. Besides, importers can continue to take physical delivery until June 30, 2022 if bill of lading is issued by March, the Commerce Ministry said in separate notifications.

In a move aimed at keeping prices under check, the government in May had amended the pulses import policy by moving tur, urad and moong from ‘restricted’ to ‘free’ category. The notifications which were valid until October 31, were later extended until December 31.

“The government, despite allowing free import, has kept the window for three months instead of a longer period which has been done in case of refined palm oil. This will help in checking prices in domestic market from rising while ensuring mandi prices also not to fall substantially,” said an expert.

While tur and moong are mainly imported from Africa and Myanmar, urad is brought from only Myanmar. However some quantities of moong are imported from Brazil, Argentina and Australia, too.

“Import policy for moong shall be ‘Free’ for consignments with bill of lading/lorry receipt dated on or before March 31, 2022. Imports should be cleared from Customs on or before June 30, 2022,” the notification said. Similarly in another notification it said: “Import policy for urad and tur shall remain unchanged. The import policy is ‘Free’ for consignments with bill of lading/lorry receipt dated on or before March 31, 2022. Imports should be cleared from Customs on or before June 30, 2022.”

“This shall bring stability to the trade and provide continuity of shipments thereby ensuring stability of prices both at origin and within India. The trade in Myanmar is highly appreciative of the pragmatic trade policies being adopted by the Indian authorities,” Vatsal Lilani, President of Overseas Agro Traders Association of Myanmar.

Prices

Moong prices in mandis are ruling at ₹5,612/quintal in Rajasthan, the biggest producer, ₹6,159 in Madhya Pradesh and ₹6,758 in Karnataka, as against its minimum support price (MSP) of ₹7,275/quintal. Mandi prices of tur are ₹5,786/quintal in Maharashtra, the largest producer, ₹5,737 in Karnataka and ₹5,126 in Madhya Pradesh, as against ₹6,300 MSP.

Urad prices in mandis are ₹4,847/quintal in Madhya Pradesh, ₹5,964 in Gujarat and ₹5,930 in Maharashtra, according to Agmarknet portal.

Consumer Affairs ministry data also point out that tur dal rates in Delhi actually dropped to ₹105/kg as on December 20 from ₹115 on October 1. Urad dal also declined by ₹4/kg to ₹86 in Gurugram, Haryana while moong dal rates increased by ₹2/kg to ₹103/kg.

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