INDIA has made a welcome cut to its import tariffs on lentils.
In a boost for Australian lentil producers still holding old crop supplies, prices have kicked about $50 a tonne to sit at around $900/t delivered to Victorian and South Australian packers.
However, the majority of the crop has already been priced, with only a few growers storing lentils in the wake of historically good prices through the first half of 2020.
The Indian government's decision will open the door for Australian exports for the first time in nearly three years after the shock decision in late 2017 to impose stringent tariffs and duties on Australian pulses in a bid to bolster the domestic pulse production sector.
Tariffs will be cut for lentils from 33 per cent to 11 per cent, with the lower rate remaining in place until at least August 31.
The reduction applies to all countries wishing to export to India except for the US.
Other major lentil exporting nations include Canada and Turkey.
There was no move on the 60pc tariff on Australian chickpeas.
According to Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) data Australia produced 323,000 tonnes of lentils in 2019-20, with the vast majority in Victoria and South Australia.
India is the largest importer of pulses in the world.