Market Update/
Lentil Duty Cut in India

Four states of the country- Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal together account for 80-85% of lentil production, while the remaining 15-20% is produced in other states. Lentil is harvested by mid-May.

The domestic production of lentils has come down to 8 lakh tonnes due to reduction in sown area and adverse weather conditions in major growing areas, which is much less than the government estimate as well as the total annual domestic requirement.
To keep market under control the government has drastically cut the basic import duty, which will be considered effective from July 27, 2021.

Under this, the total effective duty has been reduced from 50 percent to 30 percent for American lentils and from 30 to 10 percent for other countries' lentils.

Lentil is the only pulse crop having prices above MSP of Rs. 5,100 per quintal.