India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world.
A study by the Tata Strategic Management Group analyses the pulses
market in India to understand each state’s contribution
India produces a quarter of the world’s pulses, accounting
for one third of the total acreage under pulses. Indians consume 30
per cent of the world’s pulses, but domestic production of pulses
has not kept pace with population growth.
Pulses production has grown at only a 1 per cent CAGR from 1951–2008,
compared to a population growth of about 2 per cent during the same
period.
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Source: Department of Agriculture &
Cooperation
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Low productivity
The productivity of pulses has been very low in India, with 45 per
cent cumulative growth between FY 1951–2008, compared to the
productivities of wheat and rice, which have grown manifold, at 320
and 230 per cent, respectively, during the same period. Also, the
area under pulses has grown at 25 per cent during this period, a much
lower rate than that for other food grains.
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Source: Department of Agriculture &
Cooperation
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Chickpeas (chana), pigeonpeas (arhar / toor dal), urad beans (urad
dal), mung beans (moong) and red lentils (masoor) are the top five
pulses grown in India and account for over 80 per cent of the total
pulses production in the country. Over 60 per cent of pulses produced
in India are grown during the rabi season.
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Source: Department of Agriculture &
Cooperation
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Pulse-producing states
The top five states, which are Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar
Pradesh, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, account for over 75 per cent
of total production. Madhya Pradesh is the highest pulse-producing
state (3.2 million tonnes/annum) followed by Maharashtra and Uttar
Pradesh. In terms of productivity, Haryana had the highest yield,
at 824 kg/ ha, in 2007, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar.
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Source: Department of Agriculture &
Cooperation
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Dependence on imports
Imports of pulses in India have been increasing and currently account
for about 15–20 per cent of total domestic availability.
Canada and Myanmar are the major exporters to India. India imports
white peas, green peas (dried) from Canada and the US, while Myanmar
supplies several pulse varieties similar to India’s own domestic
produce, mostly urad beans, mung beans and pigeon peas. India also
imports dried peas and chickpeas from Australia, chickpeas from
Tanzania, dry peas from France and red kidney beans from China.
A split of the various pulse types imported shows that India imports
a large quantity of dry peas, which contributes to almost 70 per
cent of India’s supply.
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Source: Directorate of Economics & Statistics,
Directorate General of Foreign Trade
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Source: Directorate of Economics & Statistics,
Directorate General of Foreign Trade
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