India has sought cooperation from the BRICS nations after facing shortage in production of pulses and oilseeds. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh addressed the 6th meet of BRICS agriculture ministers, where he said, "India would like to seek cooperation from member countries in helping to meet the domestic demand." Stating that the nations have a lot of scope for cooperation in agriculture trade, he added, "We should work together to enhance trade among our countries by resolving market access issues through suitable institutional mechanisms."
The move is a win-win as it will offer business opportunities for other BRICS countries and also meet India's requirements. Singh said India is encouraging higher investment in agriculture both by public and private sectors. With a huge gap in supply and demand, in pulses and edible oils, the country depends heavily on imports.
The government has already begun importing pulses through state-run MMTC, and has even agreed to an arrangement with Mozambique for long-term supply of lentils.
India's pulses output is estimated to increase to 20 million tonnes in 2016-17 crop year (July-June) on account of good monsoon after two drought years. But the production is still lower than domestic demand of 23-24 million tonnes. Pulses production fell to 16.47 million tonnes in 2015-16 crop year from 17.15 million tonnes in the previous year.
