Dhall units seek extension till June 24 for import

MADURAI: Much to the relief of dhall manufacturers and stakeholders associated with the Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association Limited (TNFMAL), the Union government through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry lifted the ban temporarily and allowed duty free import of yellow peas up to March 31, 2024.

Welcoming the move, SVSS Velshankar, president of TNFMAL, said the price of peas has come down drastically as the edible agricultural product could be consumed by the downtrodden people. It’s cost reduced from Rs 8,000 per quintal to Rs 4,000. The import validity period tends to be short for placing orders, transportation and delivery of goods. Moreover, Lok Sabha elections are due for 2024 and hence short time extension of yellow peas import would not be fruitful, as the Model Code will come into force. Citing these, he sought the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to extend the duty free import time-period till June 30, 2024.

The TANFAML also sought to allow import of duty free Australian Kaspa peas/Dun peas to ensure reopening of several food processing mills in Tamil Nadu and other states, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala to transform peas into dhall and flour. For the past five years, these mills remained closed due to the restriction of the import of peas. The duty free import of peas would certainly enable around 2,000 dhal mills to get back in operation and offer employment for nearly 10 lakh people, Velshankar said on Sunday.

K Karunakaran, president, Tuticorin Dhall Manufacturers Association, sought amendments in the import policy to allow duty free import of Australian Kaspa/Dun peas as it remains a long pending demand. Since the import restrictions of peas were made in 2018, the zero availability of raw peas has brought the entire peas-based ecosystem here to a standstill. Even a minimal import would help ensure food security of our country. Further, Karunakaran said ahead of import restrictions, the Thoothukudi seaport handled a considerable volume of peas imports and on a daily average about 50 to 60 tonnes of dhall was produced in Thoothukudi. Not only the dhall manufacturers, but, the logistics industry, container freight stations and freight forwarding and clearing agencies benefitted from import shipments of peas, he told DT Next.

According to C Karthikeya Prabhu, an importer in Thoothukudi, the ease of import restrictions on yellow peas caused a sudden demand for this commodity triggering a price surge from 350 dollars to 500 dollars a tonne in Canada. Hence, the government should allow imports of Australian peas to maintain market balance.

He sought authorities to allow peas imports till March 31 as a ‘bill of lading date’ to avoid any ambiguity and make cargo clearance easier.