Andhra banks on pea imports

Pea imports from Canada and France are arriving daily at the ports in Andhra Pradesh following the crop failure in Uttar Pradesh. AP requires about 300 tonnes of pea every day.

Importers based in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai are selling the Canada peas at Rs 1,675 per quintal and the French peas at Rs 1,650 per quintal. Traders said the Canadian peas was better than the French variety.

According to reports, UP's pea harvest had came down by 50 per cent this year compared to last year, fuelling the demand for imported peas.

Lakshmi Narayana Rao, a peas trader, said the situation would continue till March next year when the fresh pea crop arrives from UP and villages bordering Madhya Pradesh. The peas from UP are in demand as the soil in AP is not suitable for its cultivation.

In the earlier three to four months, peas were being imported on a limited scale through Mumbai to AP. Since the price of imported peas was less than that of UP, traders had rushed to buy it. With the UP crop failing, importers have started shipping Canadian and French peas directly to AP.