Russia could begin exporting peas to India after cancellation of import duty - Grain Exporters Union

MOSCOW. Dec 15 (Interfax) - Russia may begin exporting peas to India after the country's authorities abolish the import duty. However, do not expect large volumes, Eduard Zernin, Chairman of the Board of the Union of Grain Exporters said.

"The recent lifting of restrictions on imports of peas announced by the Indian authorities will open a window of opportunity for us to export. True, only for a short period, until March 31, 2024. Of course, we will try to take advantage of the opportunity and supply a volume of peas, but it is unlikely the results will be too impressive," Zernin said, according to the Agroexport center.

"It seems that the Indian authorities' decision to lift restrictions on the import of peas is rather aimed at having a psychological impact on the domestic market, where prices have already begun to decline as a result. This is also evidenced by the speed of the decision-making and the absence of any consultations with key pea-exporting countries," he said.

Zernin recalled that Russian pea production has increased sharply in recent years, and they sell well on foreign markets, primarily in China. There have been no shipments to India yet due to high security barriers. At the same time, he said that pulses are one of the key components of the diet of many peoples in Asia and Africa, and these are key markets for Russian agricultural products. There is a growing demand for leguminous crops, including peas.

India also imports approximately 500,000 tonnes of lentils annually, mainly from Canada and Australia. "Russia could well compete with them. Since the beginning of the season, we have already supplied approximately 16,000 tonnes to India and we see the potential for further export growth," he said. "Russian plant growers need to pay more attention to the production and quality of leguminous crops, adapting their crop rotations and agricultural technologies".

The import duty on peas to India was 50% of the customs value.

As Zernin told Interfax, 630,000 tonnes of peas have already been sent to China this season. Total exports amounted to 1.44 million tonnes.

According to the union's data presented at the China Pulse 2023 conference in September in Shanghai, production of legumes in Russia increased from 3.4 million tonne in 2020 to 4.6 million tonnes in 2022, sown areas increased from 2 million to 3 million hectares, respectively. In 2023, legumes were sown on 3 million hectares.

The primary legume crop is peas. Of the 4.6 million tonnes harvested last year, peas had a share of 78.6%. The main importer of Russian peas in the 2022/2023 agricultural year was Turkey, which purchased 498,000 tonnes. Spain received 211,000 tonnes, and 166,000 tonnes to Pakistan. The top five was completed by China, with 160,000 tonnes of peas (10.3%) exported to its market.

The export of peas to China became possible after a phytosanitary requirements protocol for peas exported from Russia to the Chinese market was signed on October 10, 2022.

Rosstat data show that Russia harvested 3.616 million tonnes of peas (in weight after processing) in 2022, a 14.2% increase against 3.168 million tonnes in 2021.