Agriculture Ministry proposes hike in tur dal import duty to 20%.

Agriculture Ministry has proposed further hike in the import duty of tur dal (pigeon pea) from 10 to 20% in a bid to curb overseas purchase, arrest steep fall in wholesale prices and keep farmers’ morale high. The current import duty is not having any impact on the domestic rates, which are continuing to rule below the MSP. So the finance ministry have to raise the duty to at least 20% to restrict shipments, said govt officials. Prices are still under pressure in view of a bumper crop of about 4.23 million tonnes been harvested this year as against 2.56 million tonnes in 2015-16.