Pulses Traders and Exporters Demand 10% Cash Subsidy to Boost Exports

India is now a major exporter of a variety wide of food and agricultural products. Among these, pulses exports from India have grown at an exponential rate in recent years. 

Pulses exporters and traders have requested the government to reinstate cash subsidies on pulse exports to assist farmers at the time when chana, or chickpea, prices have fallen significantly below the minimum support price (MSP) due to record production.

Pulses industry associations have written to the commerce and agriculture ministries, requesting a 10% cash subsidy to boost exports of chana, which is currently selling at 43 per kg at the farmgate against an MSP of 52.30 per kg. The government removed a 7% cash subsidy on pulses exports two years ago.

The country produced 13.1 million tonnes of chana in 2021-22. Chana accounts for approximately 35-40% of the area under pulse cultivation and approximately 50% of total pulse production in the country.

"A cash subsidy will significantly raise export markets and help farmers get MSP," said Bimal Kothari, chairman of the Indian Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), the country's apex trade and industry body for pulses and grains. 

"We're waiting for a response from the government." He claimed that the country has a large stock of chana despite the government's purchase of 26 lakh tonnes. Also, the Kharif pulses crop is being sown, and the monsoon is anticipated to be good this year, increasing pulse production."

The government stated that it has taken several steps to ensure high pulse production, including purchasing 20 lakh tonnes of pulses directly from farmers by ensuring a minimum support price or market rates, whichever is higher.