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centre > features |
Pulses: A world view
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India is strongly dependent on the import of pulses from developed
countries, says a report by Tata Strategic Management Group
India is the world’s largest producer of pulses; as much
as 25 per cent of the world’s output is grown on Indian soil.
Vegetarian Indians drive demand for pulses, making India the largest
consumer of pulses at 30 per cent of global consumption.
The Food and Agriculture Organization defines pulses as crops
harvested solely for the dry grain (that is, excluding green beans
and green peas). Dry beans (including mung beans and urd beans), dry
peas, chickpeas and broad beans account for over 70 per cent of world
production. Of these, dry peas are mainly grown in developed countries,
while chickpea, lentil and dry beans are mostly grown in developing
countries.
The global production of pulses has remained stagnant over the last
decade, at around 56 million tonnes (2007 figure), primarily due to
the flat growth in India’s production.
Across the globe, five countries account for 50 per cent of global
pulse production. India is the world leader, with a 25 per cent share
of world production; the other major pulse-producing countries are
China, Canada, Brazil and Myanmar. The world acreage for pulses was
estimated at about 72 million hectares in 2007, with India having
23.2 million hectares under pulses.
India consumes about 30 per cent of global pulses production. China
and Brazil are a distant second in consumption, with a 6 per cent
share each.
Canada is the largest exporter of pulses in the world, with a 26 per
cent share of total exports, valued at $1.2 billion in 2007. Nearly
27 per cent of Canada’s exports are to India. Other major pulse-exporting
countries include China, Myanmar, Australia and the US. The Indian
government has banned the export of pulses, except for a particular
type of chickpea, to ensure availability in the domestic market.
High yields
The average global yield was 819 kg/ha (in 2005–2007), with Canada
and the US having yields of around 1900kg/ha. France achieves a much
higher yield, of ~4000kg/ha, but on a smaller production base, of
less than 1 million tonnes. Indian yields are much lower, at approximately
600kg/ha.
Subsistence farming in developing countries versus a market-driven
approach in developed countries, as well as climatic conditions and
the level of infrastructure development, have resulted in wide variation
in yields across countries. Some of the major factors affecting yield
are:
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Climate / soil |
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Timely availability / usage of high-yielding-variety (HYV)
seeds |
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Investment in mechanisation, irrigation, pest management and
other farming methods |
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Crop-specific effects |
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Changes in cropping patterns, e.g. double cropping, short
duration pulses |
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Level of development / infrastructure, including efficient
supply-chain and market mechanisms |
India has a long way to go to catch up with the capabilities displayed
by best-in-class countries such as Canada and the US.
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