KARACHI: Amid a looming foreign exchange crisis and a drop in local production, Pakistan made a record import of 1.344 million tonnes of pulses worth $946 million during FY23, surpassing the previous all-time high arrival of 1.266m tonnes ($709 million) in FY21.

In January 2023, importers held a protest outside the State Bank of Pakistan’s head office against the non-clearance of over 6,000 containers of pulses at the port for the past two months, due to a dollar shortage and banks’ reluctance to approve import documents.

After resolving the crisis, with an improvement in dollar availability and the government’s focus on averting any food shortage, importers rushed to boost their imports, fearing future problems. Additionally, low local production also encouraged them to increase imports.

Despite massive imports, consumers saw a mixed trend in prices of various pulses. For example, the national average price of masoor stood at Rs250-320 per kilogram compared to Rs260-350 per kg in the first week of July 2022. The national average price of moong, mash, and gram soared to Rs215-320, Rs300-540, and Rs200-300 per kg, respectively, from Rs155-240, Rs220-370, and Rs190-260 per kg.

Mixed trend in prices despite unprecedented arrival of 1.34m tonnes in FY23

As per the Economic Survey FY23, gram production during FY23 declined by 24.7 per cent to 238,000 tonnes compared to 316,000 tonnes in the last fiscal year, primarily due to a decrease in the area sown.

Production of masoor fell by 2.6pc to 3,800 tonnes in FY23 from 3,900 tonnes in FY22, while production of moong and mash declined by 49pc and 31pc to 135,000 tonnes and 4,200 tonnes, respectively, from 264,000 tonnes and 6,100 tonnes in FY22.

Explaining the high rates of pulses in the local market despite huge imports, Faisal Anis Majeed, an importer/exporter of commodities, pointed out that world pulses prices had not experienced any significant increase.

However, he attributed the soaring rates to multiple factors, including the rupee’s devaluation against the dollar, high demurrage and detention charges at the port due to delayed clearance of containers in January, and rising transportation costs triggered by the surging diesel prices. These cumulative effects have adversely impacted the landed cost of imported pulses, leading to the prevailing high prices in the domestic market.

The average per tonne price of pulses in FY23 stood at $703, compared to $674 in FY22.

He said that the drop in local production has created a big gap in consumption and demand, with Pakistan’s annual demand for gram standing at 700,000 tonnes, followed by 150,000 tonnes each for masoor and moong, and 90,000 tonnes for mash. The country primarily imports pulses from Australia, Canada, the USA, the African region, and Myanmar.

Published in Dawn, Aug 5th, 2023