As the diplomatic row between New Delhi and Ottawa escalates, no new contracts are being signed for import of lentils from Canada as importers are wary of likely retaliatory tariffs that either of the countries could impose, industry insiders said.
Canada was the biggest supplier of lentils to India in 2022-23, accounting for more than half of total imports of the legume into the country with shipments of 485,492 metric tonnes."There have been no new contracts...for import of lentils due to the heightened diplomatic tension," a senior executive of a large import-export firm said on condition of anonymity.
However, whatever contracts signed before the conflict began are being honoured, traders said.A drop in supply of lentils could inflate its domestic prices at a time when the country is already facing high inflation in pulses which was at 13% last month, the highest in all food categories followed by cereals.
The row between the two countries started after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month alleged that Indian agents are suspected to be involved in the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil in June. India's foreign ministry called the allegations "absurd".
Canada has withdrawn 41 diplomats from India amid the dispute after New Delhi asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence. Ottawa also expelled an Indian diplomat over the affair.
Until now, neither of the countries have imposed any tariffs to discourage trade.
However, India has diversified its lentils imports to other nations with Australia turning out to be the biggest gainer. Additionally, it has fully exempted lentils imported from the US from any sort of customs duty recently. Russia, Singapore, Turkey, and the UAE are other import destinations for lentils.
India consumes around 2.3 million tonnes of lentils, against the annual production of around 1.6 million tonnes.
No comments:
Post a Comment