Long discussion between organizations of pulses sector and Consumer Affairs Secretary

04-Jun-2024 04:58 PM

New Delhi. On 28 May, the Chairman of GPC, several board members and senior officials of national level associations and organizations had a long, meaningful and practical discussion with Union Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare. In this meeting organized in collaboration with Global Pulses Con Federation (GPC) and NAFED Additional Managing Director Sunil Kumar Singh, useful discussions were held on various issues and an opportunity was provided to present our views on various problems and matters.

In her initial remarks about the ever increasing domestic demand for pulses and the opportunity for international trade, Nidhi Khare revealed that the Department of Consumer Affairs is making every possible effort to increase the supply of pulses and is taking several steps to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

The intention of the department is to ensure adequate availability of pulses to all Indian consumers at reasonable prices.

The Secretary said that India is rapidly progressing on the path of progress and in the coming years, the demand and consumption of pulses is likely to increase regularly here.

Since the Government of India has been successful in controlling food inflation and especially during the lockdown in the Corona period, food inflation has been curbed to a great extent, hence it will be controlled in future also.

Nidhi Khare said that more and more state governments will understand the reality that by increasing the supply of pulses, better nutritional security can be provided to about 80 crore families of the country.

In India, import duty on three major pulses has been abolished while two other pulses have also been included in this list. Nidhi Khare said that this is a golden opportunity for all the suppliers around the world which they should grab with both hands.

The Secretary said that especially in the countries of the Southern Hemisphere, it should be assessed that in how much area they have to cultivate which pulse for the next three to four months so that profit can be earned by exporting it to India.

But Nidhi Khare also urged the industry and trade sector not to spread any unnecessary sensation in the matter of pulses during this transition and nor try to exploit the consumers by putting them in trouble.