India’s decision to remove stock limit exemptions for pulses held by Indian importers amidst rising prices of the commodity has become a cause of concern for the US.
On October 18, India cut down the permissible limit of pulse crops to 350mt that can be stored in the country before being sold in the market.
The move is seen as a threat to US pulse exports to India. More than 200,000mt of pulses are being stored at ports of India, claimed lawyers from Montana State in the US.
In the US, Montana is considered as one of the largest pulse producing states.
On October 27, US Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester and Congressman Ryan Zinke alleged in a letter that the Indian government order "will effectively close India's pulse import trade entirely as the central government's recommended 'stock limit' is only 350 metric tons."
They averred that Indian importers receive shipments of thousands of metric tons during the regular course of business at one time, reported Financial Express.
."This directly threatens US pulse exports to India that total over 100,000 metric tons annually. Additionally over 200,000 metric tons of pulse are currently being held at Indian ports and their status is currently uncertain," the Montana lawmakers stated.
"We request that USDA and Commerce engage with the Indian government to resolve this situation as quickly as possible and provide pulse producers in Montana and across the country the certainty they deserve," the letter added.
