Facing sharp criticism over the spiralling prices of pulses, the Union government on Tuesday sent a delegation to Mozambique to explore the options of importing pulses on a government-to-government basis.
The high-level delegation is led by Consumer Affairs Secretary Hem Pande, an official statement said.
The delegation includes senior officials of the Ministries of Commerce and Agriculture and those from the Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India, a state trading body.
Another team of senior officials is already in Myanmar on the same mission.
India’s pulse output has been affected by two consecutive years of drought. Because of a gap of 7 million tonnes between demand and supply, the retail prices have soared, with urad dal costing Rs. 195 a kg last week. In most parts of the country, the average prices, primarily of tur dal and urad dal, are ruling high.
Malawi is another African country with which India is having talks on buying pulses. During 2014-15, India produced 17.2 million tonnes of pulses, while during 2015-16 the output was 17.06 million tonnes against the demand of 23.66 million tonnes. he pulse prices increased by 29.6 per cent on an average during 2015-16.
