India's pulse self-reliance dream fades amid rising imports and low yields

(MENAFN- Live Mint) New Delhi: Despite record sowing of pulses during the kharif season, India's goal of becoming self-reliant in pulses by 2027 seems increasingly out of reach, experts said. The yield isn't enough to keep up with demand, even as fears mount that excessive rainfall in September could damage planted crops and impact production estimates for pulses, said Bimal Kothari, chairman of the India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA). Although El Niño has ended, the La Niña effect, which refers to the cooling of the central Pacific Ocean, is expected to firmly establish itself in September, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The national forecaster has predicted an unusually rainy September, particularly in northern India. Pulses yield in India is about one tonne per hectare, compared with four tonnes per hectare in Canada, a major importing nation for masur, Kothari added. According to the consumer affairs ministry, pulses imports have increased ...