Supreme Court issues notice to Centre on PIL seeking curbs on yellow pea imports

Farmers warn cheap imports are slashing domestic pulse prices, threatening livelihoods and undermining the government’s push for self-reliance in pulses.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Centre on a PIL filed by a farmers' body seeking restrictions on the import of yellow peas, a substitute for pulses, citing harm to the livelihoods of domestic pulse growers.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh asked the Centre to respond to the plea filed by ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’.

“We are inclined to issue notice, but the net result should not be that end consumers suffer,” the bench said.

The court also asked advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the farmers' body, to examine whether domestic pulse production is sufficient.

The petition claimed excessive imports have sharply depressed domestic prices, harming farmers.

“The landed cost of yellow peas in India is around Rs 3,500 per quintal, less than half of the MSP for domestically grown pulses, which is about Rs 8,000 per quintal.

This disparity is forcing farmers to sell at much lower prices, discouraging cultivation and threatening domestic production,” the plea said.

In 2024, India imported a record 6.7 million tonnes of pulses, of which yellow peas accounted for roughly 2.9 million tonnes.

Imported largely from Canada, the US, and Australia, yellow peas are primarily used as cattle feed abroad but have become a cheap substitute for Indian pulses, the plea added.

“This has caused domestic prices to fall well below MSP, undermining the government’s ‘Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses’ launched in February 2025, which aims to boost domestic production and ensure remunerative prices for farmers,” it said.