3 min readNew DelhiMar 19, 2026 01:12 PM IST
India has decided to extend its agreement with Myanmar for the import of pulses for another five years beyond 2025-26, The Indian Express has learnt.
It is learnt that the Ministry of Commerce has informed the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and the Ministry of External Affairs that the existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Myanmar may be for another 5 years beyond 2025-26. It also said that an additional quantity of 1 lakh tonnes of Tur dal may be allowed to Myanmar for the financial year 2026-27, apart from the previously agreed quantity of one lakh tonnes.
In June 2021, India and Myanmar signed an agreement to promote the trading of Urad and Tur dals. As per the agreement, India made a commitment to import an annual quantity of 2.5 lakh metric tonnes of Urad and 1 lakh tonnes of Tur from Myanmar, through private trade, over the five years — from 2021-22 to 2025-26 (April-March). The agreement was signed between Myanmar’s Ministry of Commerce and India’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution.
The agreement was to expire at the end of March this year.
According to sources, the decision to extend the pulses import agreement with Myanmar has been taken after reviewing prices and availability of essential commodities.
The move comes at a time when the US and Israel’s war with Iran has caused global supply chain disruptions, posing threats to fuel and fertilizer security. In the midst of this, the government’s move is being seen as a step towards ensuring food security. The move is also significant as the domestic production of Tur and Urad is pegged to remain low during 2025-26.
India’s annual pulses demand is 28-29 million tonnes, but its production has remained about 24-25 million tonnes during the last three years, leaving the country dependent on imports to meet the demand.
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Tur is the second biggest pulse in terms of production in India, after gram. As per the Second Advance Estimate of Production of Food Grains for the year 2025-26 released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, the Tur production is estimated to come down to 3.45 million tonnes in 2025-26 from 3.64 million tonnes in 2024-25. Urad production is also pegged to lower (1.74 million tonnes) during 2025-26 as compared to 2.24 million tonnes in the previous year.
In recent years, Myanmar has emerged as one of India’s key suppliers of pulses.
As per the data available with the Ministry of Commerce, India imported 3.32 lakh metric tonnes of Tur (pigeon peas) from Myanmar during April-January 2025-26, which is 44 per cent higher than the 2.24 lakh metric tonnes during the corresponding period of fiscal year 2024-25. The urad import increased to 6.67 lakh tonnes from 5.90 lakh tonnes during this period.
