Pulses importers land in trouble after govt's move on moong beans

Pulses importers have landed in trouble following the government's notification issued last Friday to restrict the import of moong beans with immediate effect. Earlier, the import of moong beans was allowed under the "free" category subject to the bill lading issued by March 31, 2022 and customs clearance by June 30, 2022.

Commenting on the government's fresh move, Bimal Kothari, vice chairman, India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) said, “Based on the “free” import policy, Indian market participants had entered into binding contractual obligations for the import of moong from other countries into India. It was barely two months ago, that the government of India allowed the “free”import of moong, and has now changed that policy overnight. On behalf of all market players, we request the government to reconsider the notification restricting imports and reinstate the “free” import policy."

"Frequent policy changes create immense financial hardship for Indian market participants, and uncertainty for international counterparts. Such changes are counterproductive for international trade and inconsistent with India’s “Ease of Doing Business” objective. Consequently, we request the government to provide reasonable advance notice to the market before introducing new policies that can hamper existing trade commitments," Kothari added.

"We are making representation to the Union ministry of commerce and industry to withdraw this notification, as Indian importers have contracted cargoes which are presently in transit to Indian ports. If these cargoes are not allowed to be imported, it will create immense financial hardship to Indian companies and chaos in the market," he said.