The central government raised the import duty on two varieties of pulses, chana (chickpea) and masoor (red gram) to 30 per cent. And, hiked the Minimum Support Price for toria, a variety of oilseed grown largely in Rajasthan, by around 9.5 per cent to Rs 3,900 a quintal.It also indicated it might further increase the import duty on wheat; this was raised to 20 per cent only last month, after private traders imported about a million tonnes of wheat since April at 10 per cent duty. These moves come in the wake of the election in Gujarat, where the ruling party was returned to power with a smaller majority, due to a problem with rural voters. The latter and critics said the displeasure was due to distress in the farm sector and sharp falls in prices of produce. "Production of chana and masoor are expected to be high during the coming rabi season and cheap import, if allowed unabated, are likely to adversely affect the interest of farmers," was the official explanation for Thursday's ...
