Govt urges pulses importers from Myanmar to use Rupee-Kyat direct payment system

The Central Bank of Myanmar on January 26, 2024 had released guidelines for payment procedures under SRVA through PNB and UAB bank.(Reuters)

The government on Saturday asked importers from Myanmar to use the Rupee-Kyat trade mechanism for faster imports of pulses such as tur and urad. The importers have been asked to utilise the Rupee-Kyat direct payment system using Special Rupee Vostro Account (SRVA) through Punjab National Bank (PNB), according to an official statement.

Stating that the direct payment is applicable for both sea and border trade as well as services, the statement said it would reduce costs associated with the currency conversions and eliminate complexities related to exchange rates by eliminating the need for multiple currency conversions. The Central Bank of Myanmar on January 26, 2024 had released guidelines for payment procedures under SRVA through PNB and UAB bank.

In 2021, India entered into a MoU with Myanmar for the import of 0.25 million tonne (MT) of urad and 0.1 MT of tur per annum, respectively, till 2025 through private trade.

Consumer affairs secretary Nidhi Khare discussed the issues around pulses imports from Myanmar with the Indian Mission in Yangon in the wake of revised exchange rates and stocks held by importers in Myanmar, according to an official statement.

Meanwhile, the government earlier in the week had said that traders, importers, millers and stocks would have to declare the stocks of these items from April 15. It suspects a substantial quantity of imported pulses is lying in customs warehouses.

The states and union territories have also been asked to enforce weekly stock disclosure by all stockholding entities and verify the stocks declared by them.

The department of consumer affairs has also warned that anyone found to be indulging in forward trade of pulses would be dealt with firmly as per various provisions of the Essential Commodities Act.

The retail inflation in pulses declined marginally to 17.71% in March from 18.9% in February, 2024 while arhar variety of pulses reported a price rise of 33.54%. Inflation in pulses has been in the double digits for the past many months.

The government has been taking several steps to improve domestic supplies through liberalise imports.

In 2023, India imported 2.98 MT of pulses – 1.51 MT (lentil), 0.77 MT (tur or pigeon pea) and 0.59 MT (urad or black gram) mostly from Australia, Canada, Myanmar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Sudan and Malawi.