Tur import drops 84% in April-May: Govt

Import of tur has declined by 84 per cent to 16,000 tonnes during April-May this fiscal, the government today informed Parliament.

About 97,000 tonnes of tur (red gram) was purchased from the overseas market in the same period of the previous fiscal.

"There is a significant decline in import of the said commodity in the country over the last one year," Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

It is due to higher local production and not import that is having adverse impact on domestic prices, he said.

While the Telangana government has demanded ban on import of tur but the Centre has already imposed quantitative restriction of 2 lakh tonnes per annum on import of tur, effective August 2017, he added.

Besides, the government has lifted ban on export of all varieties of pulses with effect from November 22, 2017 to boost overseas shipments.

As per the data placed before the Upper House, tur imports dropped by 41 per cent to 4.12 lakh tonnes in 2017-18 fiscal from 7.04 lakh tonnes during 2016-17.