Will India open a second window for duty-free pea imports?

The Indian government might have to consider opening a second window for duty-free yellow pea imports, according to a senior industry official from that country. “Maybe in the back end of the season,” Manek Gupta, managing director of Viterra India PVT Ltd., said during a recent webinar hosted by the India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA). He believes there will be a sizeable shortfall in rabi or winter season chickpea production. Seeding of the crop was 10 percent behind last year’s pace at the time of the Dec. 14 webinar. Gupta is forecasting a nine percent drop in production, to about 11 million tonnes. But it could be a lot worse than that if there is major heat stress in January or February. Weather conditions for the current growing season have been average but monsoon rainfall was disappointing in some key districts in the states of Karnataka and Maharashtra. “There are these red flags, or orange flags at least, at this stage,” he said. A smaller chickpea crop was ...