Mozambique will produce Indian varieties of pulses, mainly arhar and urad, to meet India’s growing demand for dals . The Cabinet on Tuesday approved signing a long-term MoU with the African nation to double import of pluses from the present one lakh tonnes to two lakh tonnes by 2020-21.

Announcing the decision, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the crop to be grown in Mozambique would taste like that of pulses raised in India. He said the pulses grown here taste different from the ones produced in other countries. Officials also said the look and taste of imported pulses did not find many takers in India.

Sources said the government will assist Mozambique by providing high quality seeds and technical assistance. TOI has learnt that New Delhi may even provide financial help and will also assure to buy all pulses grown there.

According to a government release, pulses from Mozambique will be imported through private channels or government-to-government (G2G) sales through state agencies nominated by the two countries. “The MoU will augment domestic availability of pulses in India and thereby stabilise its prices,” the release added.

Under pressure to check spiralling prices of pulses , the government had sent two teams to Myanmar and Mozambique to explore options for getting the key kitchen item. While Myanmar had flatly told the delegation that they had no mechanism for G2G trade and they preferred the private route, Mozambique said it was ready to meet India’s requirement provided New Delhi assured buying the entire quantity of pulses grown there.

TOI on June 27 had first reported this proposal from the African country.

Total pulses production in India during 2015-16 was 17 million tonnes while 5.79 million tonnes of pulses were imported to meet the domestic requirement. However, the availability of pulses including domestic production and imports was less than domestic requirement, putting pressure on prices during 2015-16 and the current fiscal.

Source: The Times of India