Opposing the restriction imposed on the import of peas by the Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the Tamil Nadu government on Thursday urged the Centre to permit the import of peas with HSN codes through Thoothukudi seaport, contending that the restriction has led to cost escalating to ₹65 per kg in the State.
In his letter to the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami noted, “This ban has detrimentally affected dal and flour mills operating as MSME units in Tamil Nadu and thereby the livelihood of labourers and others who depend on this trade. This restriction has also increased the demand and due to its shortage, the cost of green peas in Tamil Nadu has gone up.”
Referring to the representations he received in this regard, Mr. Palaniswami highlighted the difficulties faced by dal and flour mills in procuring peas of various varieties. Peas are primarily used in the preparation of traditional and region-specific snacks. Peas are being cultivated in over 5.40 lakh hectares across India with an annual estimated production of 54.22 lakh tonnes.
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The average requirement of peas in Tamil Nadu is around 2 lakh tonnes, of which only 10,000 tonnes were sourced from the northern States, he said. “Moreover, because of the heavy demand for peas in other States, cost of peas transported from northern States after fulfilling their internal demand is very high and can range up to ₹65 per kg.”
Peas were being imported from Australia, Canada, Russia, among others countries, through Thoothukudi at cheaper rates before the Director-General of Foreign Trade imposed a restriction on the import of peas to 1.5 lakh tonnes for the entire country. “I request that the Union Government may kindly permit the import of peas with HSN codes 07131010 (yellow peas), 07131020 (green peas) and 07131090 (other) through Thoothukudi seaport for the welfare of the dhal and flour milling trade in Tamil Nadu as well as the neighbouring southern States.”
The lifting of restriction on import of peas through Thoothukudi would hardly affect the domestic market in northern States, Mr. Palaniswami added.
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