Import duty on yellow peas will facilitate better market price: Madurai traders

MADURAI: The stakeholders of Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association Limited (TNFMAL), Madurai, on Monday, welcomed the 30 per cent import duty on yellow peas, effective from November 1.

"The union government has considered our requests and has levied duty on imports of yellow peas. This will facilitate a better price against the Minimum Support Price (MSP) announced by the government for the agricultural produce of several states across India and eventually protect the livelihood of farmers," said SVSS Velshankar, the president of TNFMAL.

He pointed out that the central government had earlier allowed duty-free imports of yellow peas until March 31, 2026. However, the farmers had urged authorities to curb the influx of cheap imports. Following this, the levy came into effect this month.

The TNFMAL had earlier submitted a memorandum, in September, to the Centre seeking a minimum per cent import duty for peas in the best interests of farmers, he noted.

"Currently, yellow peas are imported only from Ukraine and Canada. The farmers have not been getting a reasonable price for their agricultural produce, including gram, toor, moong and masoor, because the yellow peas have been imported without any duty since December 2023, and the market price of these products was less than the minimum support price," he pointed out.

He further said the stakeholders are continuously demanding that the central government allow the import of Australian kaspa peas. However, the demands remain unmet, he noted.