India just shattered another record — but this time, it’s not one to celebrate. The world’s top pulse consumer imported a staggering 6.5 million tonnes of pulses in 2024/25, up nearly 40% from the 4.8 million tonnes imported the previous year. According to economist and senior editor G. Chandrashekhar, the numbers signal a deeper problem unfolding in Indian agriculture.
In a recent commentary posted to the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers website, Chandrashekhar explains: “India has once again attracted the world’s attention with a record import of 6.5 million tonnes of various pulses in 2024/25, nearly 40% higher than the 4.8 million tonnes in 2023/24 which itself was twice the average imports in each of the previous three years.”
What’s driving the spike? A steady decline in domestic production paired with increasingly volatile weather — and, as Chandrashekhar bluntly puts it, “Climate change is beginning to take a toll.”
India’s pulse output has been on the downswing since 2021/22, when planted area peaked at 30.6 million hectares and production hit 27.3 million tonnes. Fast forward to 2024/25, and those figures have dropped to 26.9 million hectares and a stagnating 25–26 million tonnes — a range that Chandrashekhar suggests may even be optimistic: “While these are official figures, private estimates suggest a 5-8% lower output.”
The sharpest decline has been in chickpeas (chana), a staple protein source for millions of Indians. “Chickpea or chana area has declined from 11.2 million ha in 2022/23 to 10.5 million ha in 2023/24 and further down to 9.9 million ha in 2024/25,” he notes.
To make up the shortfall and curb food inflation, India’s government has liberalized imports of key pulses including pigeon pea, black matpe, lentil, chickpea, and yellow pea. Over 70% of total imports in 2024/25 were lentils, pigeon pea, and yellow pea — the latter now facing pushback due to oversupply.
“At the moment, huge inventory of yellow pea is proving to be burdensome – due to excessive import, some argue,” writes Chandrashekhar. “A section of the trade has demanded suspension of yellow pea import or imposition of import tariff.”
So far, policymakers are staying the course. “Indian policymakers are in no hurry to tinker with the current policy. Control of food inflation is top priority for the government,” he writes. Meanwhile, traders are rushing to finalize yellow pea contracts before a looming import deadline of May 31.
With India’s Southwest monsoon expected to begin in June, its progress could make or break the upcoming Kharif pulse crop season. Chandrashekhar reports that “the Southwest monsoon seasonal (June to September) rainfall over the country as a whole is most likely to be above normal… with a model error of +/- 5%.”
But given recent years’ performance — where rainfall was technically “normal” but unevenly distributed — farmers and traders are hedging their bets.
Chandrashekhar cautions that “uncertainties lie ahead. It would be risky to hazard a guess when the picture is hazy.” Among those uncertainties: Will yellow pea imports be extended beyond May? Will India’s import strategy shift if prices or weather patterns swing dramatically? And how will global trade disputes impact pulse access in the months ahead?
With India’s festival season beginning in August, demand will only climb from here. Whether domestic production can rebound in time remains to be seen.
As Chandrashekhar concludes: “It would be most appropriate to review the Indian market conditions by early July when there would be a lot more clarity than at present in terms of rainfall, prices, and government policy.”
