Canadian Pulse’s Imports have taken a major hit in India over the last few months.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to India for a state visit from February 17 to 23.

The CEO for Pulse Canada Gordon Bacon is also going to be in India and says Canada and the Prime Minister need to make our position clear this week.

"Well to me a clear ask can be that Canada should not be required to fumigate product in Canada or on arrival in India," he said. "We shouldn't be paying any five times fee because we don't have the pests. So I think the fumigation issue, transparency, and exception for cargos on the route would be the three key points." 

Bacon says India has changed a number of policy actions in the last few months that has really impacted the global pulse sector.

"Not only now do all countries have to pay a five times fumigation fee, which is something that is around $700,000 for a 50,000-ton vessel. Countries now have to pay an import levy which is currently 50 per cent on peas, 33 per cent on lentils, and 44 per cent on chickpeas and the concern that we have here is that India is bound only a 100 per cent so those duties on lentils and chickpeas, in theory, can go up."

He adds that they want to understand how India will determine the process to drive pulse levies up and what will bring them down.

 

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