Pulse industry in India: status and way forward - a Review

摘要

India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world accounting for about 25 per cent of global production, 27 per cent of global consumption and about 33 per cent of the world's area under pulses. However, compared to cereals like wheatand paddy, the growth rate of area and production of pulses is negligible and there exists wide variability in their yield in different states of the country. Ironically, the country's pulse production has been hovering around 14-15 mt, coming from a near-stagnated area of 22-23 m ha, since 1990-91. For meeting the demand of the growing population, the country is importing pulses to the tune of 2.5-3.S mt every year. Strong upward trend in the import of pulses is a cause of concern, since an increase indemand from India has shown to have cascading effect on international prices, thus draining the precious foreign exchange. By 2050, the domestic requirements would be 26.50 mt, necessitating stepping up production by 81.50%, i.e. 11.9 mt additional produce at 1.86% annual growth rate.