The government has extended the duty-free import of yellow peas used as a substitute for chana (gram) by two months to June 30.

The move comes as the RBI sounded a note of caution about food prices based on the forecast of high temperature between April and June.

“All imports of yellow peas where the bill of lading (shipped on board) is dated on or before June 30, shall be subject to compulsory registration under the online import monitoring system,” according to a Directorate General Foreign Trade (DGFT) notification.

In December, the government allowed duty-free import of yellow peas till March 31, 2024.

Subsequently, the government extended it till April 30.

Retail inflation in pulses was 18.48 per cent in February, up from 16.06 per cent in January, and has significantly contributed to high food inflation.

According to the second advance estimate by the agriculture ministry, the production of gram or chana crop is estimated at 12.1 million tonnes (mt), marginally lower than the previous year’s production. The estimate on tur for the current season has been lowered to 3.33 mt from the October estimate of 3.42 mt, but it’s on par with the previous year’s output.

“Yellow pea imports are expected to help offset the projected shortfall in output of chana on drop in acreage and weather impacting the yields,” officials said.

Currently mandi prices of chana are ruling around Rs 6,000/quintal, against the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,440/quintal for 2024-25 season.